I wish I didn't have to disagree with you, but having a boss with a similar mindset to OP I can tell you it really isn't like that. Not everyone works logically. Not everyone needs a reason to do things - They need an excuse. If his boss wanted to pay lower salaries, this is just an excuses. Some bosses don't want to understand and frankly don't care enough to understand your role in detail. They only care about results. You'll be surprised how many people actually think programming is the easiest job in the world "All you do is push a couple buttons".
