The problem is that it's much easier to quantify a developer's output. Does that dropdown include all 50 states? Great, here you get paid. Do people using the dropdown know that its to enter a state? Well one guy says, "ya duh" and the other says "hmm not really".
It's also much easier for the skills of a developer to become commoditized for many of the same reasons. When what is needed and delivered is so easily quantified, it is also easier to find another provider of said services.
What makes a skilled designer so rare and desirable is the fact that they will bring up issues and concepts that may not even have been thought of until their input was garnered.
