I agree with those who say that programming is not a skill that the majority of people must have. At the same time, I think it is a skill that all educated people should have some passing familiarity with. It's in the same vein that I think every educated adult should have some chemistry, history, etc, under their belt. They don't have to be experts or even functional in it, but we all should know enough to intelligently participate in society's discussions about important topics like say, global climate change or stem cell research or nutrition science.

Another argument for making every Middle School? or High School? person have a programming class is to open up possibilities for young people. I just happened to take a Basic programming class in High School. I had no interest in programming before that. After that class, I realized that I LOVED programming. If we don't expose young people to the topic in a meaningful way, people can loose out on opportunities. Also, I suspect that early exposure in a positive way could get more diverse people into the field.