Many companies don't really have the luxury of picking. A full time programmer, even one who sticks around for 8 months or so, is far better than a contractor.

Many companies don't really have the luxury of picking. A full time programmer, even one who sticks around for 8 months or so, is far better than a contractor. There's also the possibility they hang around for years. Someone who's doing indie work on the side, well, they're upskilling themselves at least. And they're more likely to be incentivized by more time off or less work than they are by more money, so it's not always bad.