Well if I could have some reasonable expectation that my baggage and my body would wind up in the same location I'd be happy to check more. Unfortunately that's not the case, and on more than one occasion I've had to wait 3 to 5 days for my bag to catch up with me at my destination. So I'll continue to travel with carryon if I can.
That said, I'll agree there is lots of abuse. Try travelling to South America!