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It is pathetic and okay, the money involved is hugely different but then so is the work. I used to bring in multi-million dollar IT projects on time (in fact usually early), which meant keeping everyone from in-house programmers to third-party suppliers on track.
The point is it can be done and the reason most freelance programmers and designers earn themselves and their colleagues a bad reputation, is that the majority don't have the mindset to be their own bosses. Without someone riding them to work to schedule, they simply don't. On top of that, a lot have very little idea about quality control, and no clue about the potential damage it causes them when they simply leave clients high and dry.
Then again, many of their unhappy clients are reluctant to speak up, so much of that potential damage is avoided. Ten years on, you would expect us collectively to have a much better idea about who to work with, who to avoid. And it's largely our own fault we keep getting stiffed by flakes.
Price is another factor. Most of us want everything done on the cheap and a lot of programmers and designers are so anxious to work, they quote optimistically on already cheap rates. Instead of seeing this as a danger sign, many grab at the chance to save money, and end up hiring someone who realizes part-way through he made a bad deal. Often that person won't have enough ethical or business sense to learn for next time and see this job through.
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