The other thing is that we don't need millions of gourmet chefs who can invent their own five-star menus. We need line chefs, and kitchen staff, and even burger flippers. Right now there's so much demand that even the digital burger-flippers get paid a good wage. So why does the OP feel the need to - yes - gatekeep people from the entire field?
Because right now there's no distinction between the burger-flipper and the master chef and moreover the burger-flippers are insisting that there shouldn't be one, even though there's an obvious gap in depth of expertise. The market supports paying both roughly the same right now but as more and more burger-flippers flock to the industry, the distinction will become more and more clear and the industry will bifurcate.
Okay, but the issue you describe is one where perhaps employers need to do a better job interviewing candidates for different tiers of roles. "Seniority inflation" definitely happens when it comes to job titles (I don't think it's a huge problem, but it probably isn't good), and people of widely varying skill levels definitely get put in the same levels of roles due to flawed hiring processes.
But the issue is not bootcamps, or StackOverflow, or "positivity" about whether or not individuals can be programmers at all.
