>Visual effects went through this same development issues as the industry matured
The industry haven't matured except until a certain point. Then it declined. Modern visual effects are worse than practical effects in their heyday. They are also worse done than 3D effects in their tasteful early days (like Jurassic Park).
Are you sure this is not just a case of good VX has hard to spot? And you only notice the bad/cheap examples.
I think this has more to do with the cutthroat business than the technology involved. It seems the tech has improved, but the quality has suffered due to pressure to just fling shit out the door using the least amount of money to generate the most amount of profit. They are squeezing every penny dry. It seems to me the person you're responding to still has a valid point.