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That's true regardless of what view one takes about the rights and wrongs of the matter. We really need to start recognising that ebooks are a different kind of thing than paper books and that whether or not we want to allow similar types of behaviour (such as lending) is a separate question (and will necessarily be achieved in a different way).
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This is the heart of it for me. I know lots of people like to say "I always lent paperbacks." Well, technology changed. And so do the rules and reasons for them. Because something is easily possible, and people are mimicking a privilege they enjoyed before, doesn't change that fact that things changed. Lending can hurt author income. Just as secondhand selling hurt authors.
Not that it will stop a lot of people. And as I've mentioned, "hoping" or siting studies that say lending could find new readers for an author, doesn't change the fact that it is illegal in many cases and does hurt the author in at least some cases.
Author income has always been an issue. I know quite a few authors who stopped writing because they had to get jobs--and this was before indies and Kindle. The reality is that writing doesn't pay very much. Books are plentiful and do not hold a high "value" with readers--meaning readers will not pay a lot. Sure, an individual book here and there may hold value--in that a reader will buy a second copy or buy one for a friend. Or keep a pristine copy on the shelf. But by and large, readers look for the cheapest copy available (I do) and discard it or pass it along or forget about it. Ebooks don't change that. It is just easier and worse for the author because multiple copies can be made. The laws and licenses try to protect the income stream, but of course, fail to some degree.
Now I'm not here to lambast anyone; your decisions are your own. I also know it won't change anyone's opinion and that is fine too. I only state it because the quibbling and "reasons" given amuse me. "I did it before" is sort of like the argument "He started it." It really doesn't matter in the long run if the outcome is the same.
The laws often aren't fair or they go too far in one direction or the other.
Bottom line: Making a living writing has always been hard. Ebooks don't change that and while they open opportunities for finding a larger audience, they make it harder in other ways. Also, people will be people.
