If you are so butt hurt by my "incredibly condescending" post, you would do well to never get involved with the construction business, and a lot of other places beyond the corporate world. Places where a warm fuzzy environment of PC, "don't tell the truth, somebody may be offended by your "micro insult", and "I'm retreating to my safe space", not only does not exist, but never will.
As for catastrophic structural failure, it happens, but it is exceeding rare, in most geologically stable regions. Typically only occuring as a result of extreme neglect of proper maintenance, or mind blowing stupidity on the part of incompetent DIYers, or criminally negligent "contractors". Most laymen have little understanding of how forgiving traditional "western" style stick frame structures are, and how difficult it is to screw up to the point that you actually create a mode of instantaneous failure. In my region, which has a long history of large volumes of SFR construction in a code free environment, structural failure is a statistically insignificant issue.
Like many in our over-regulated, "there must be some government agency to protect me" society, you place an unworthy trust in the fact that you are allegedly protected by building codes, compliance, and enforcement. My region has been under vigorous enforcement of the International Building Code SFR regulatons for a decade. During that time I have dealt with inspectors who were extraordinary competent, and interested in assuring that the work done in their jurisdiction was done well, and resulted in a safe, durable product. I have also dealt with others who didn't have a clue what they were doing, and spent their time in the field trying to hide that fact. I have been forced to do things that endanger the health and life safety of the home's occupants because it's "in the book", and wasted thousands, to tens of thousands of dollars per project, on details that add no value, or are not required in my region, but are "in the book".
There is absolutely no reason to believe that code enforcement will do anything for the quality of home remodeling beyond it's basic intention, that being to set a MINIMUM standard for safety and durability. This must be tempered by the reality that alleged benefit from such enforcement is highly dependent on the competence and rigorousness of the permitting, and inspection process. To illustrate, I recently watched a new home being built on my block. The builder is somebody I'm real familiar with. An unethical scumbag, who is also smart, and well versed in how to navigate around the thousand page book we all follow to satisfy the code gods. Without stepping on the site, and with little investigation beyond glancing, while driving by, I spotted at least three serious issues that are violations, and will result in structural, health and possibly life safety problems for the occupants, in the future. The reason these issues will only be addressed by the owner, long after the one year warranty expires? Because all of the violations were concealed, legitimately, before the inspector was called for the next phase inspection.
Bottom line? Successful code enforcement relies on competent agencies, on one side of the table, and honest, well trained contractors on the other. It is actually pretty easy to cut corners and do inferior work, while cutting costs, and maximizing profits, regardless of who is watching. If you are the kind of contractor who lacks ethics, it can be greatly beneficial to do work with customers who, like yourself, place a high value on the rule of law, and doing everything "by the book".
So you are welcome to "stand by your statement" for as long as you need to. As long as you understand three things.
#1 Permits and inspections can be a great asset to the homeowner, or a waste of time and money.
#2 I, and a lot of other builders and contractors, can and will do a great job for you, regardless of the inspection process. We can also tell you who to avoid, since we know that they can, have, and will continue to fuck customers, regardless of the inspection process.
#3 MANY local jurisdictions are regulated in such a manner that NOTHING inside of an existing structure requires a permit or inspection. In my region I can tear a wall down, install a furnace, or rewire your house, without a permit. In the vast majority of cases, the end result will be a satisfied customer, a competently completed project, and a lot of time and money saved on having the government intruding in the process.