“if tomorrow’s authors cannot make a living from their work, only the independently wealthy or the subsidized will be able to pursue a career in writing,”
Only ambush writing will pay in the future.
We are a nation that is now lawless, so oh well..........
I don't think we have to worry about a shortage of books anytime soon. It will take multiple lifetimes to even skim what is available in printed form today.
The Google scans serve a valuable purpose in allowing the millions of publications available to be indexed and searched. In fact, many authors will benefit by having their works found which might otherwise have been lost forever.