In a comment in response to a comment by Haacked in this post over at Nick Malik's blog, someone named John Matthews makes a very good presentation that ties into a lot of what I've been saying. I can't link to the comment, and I guess I can't just cut and paste the entire thing but here are the key points:
"there is a question no-one seems to be addressing. Why are these Access databases, VB hacks and 'quick fixes' being used in the first place."
"I was (am) a Mort...we had budgets to work to, we had to make a profit....you "do what you can with what you have" and you do it as quickly as possible to keep ahead of your competitor in the marketplace."
"In most cases (33 out of around 38 projects) the codebase was discarded once the results it was required to produce were finished."
"In the other 5 or so cases, the database and code continued to be used and expanded upon."
"Did those 5 projects end up costing more than they would have if the 'real' developers had gotten hold of them?...Yes. Most certainly."
"Did the return on the 38 projects justify the expense of rewriting the 5.....Absolutely. Without doubt."
Great stuff.