I can't find someone who'll sell me a Corvette for $10. That must mean there's a Corvette shortage...
The MBA's, pols, and lobbyists that run our society can't seem to understand that supply and demand applies to other people as well. If the reward for several years of grad school were equal to the risk and cost, you'd see more people in STEM. That's why they went into finance, because that's where the money was.
When the scientists and engineers make more money than the MBA's running the company, I'll imaging you won't have any problem finding them. (And I have both a MBA from a top 25 school and 12 years in high-performance computer. Guess who makes more around here...)
When you say something is unimportant, and yet treat it as unimportant, people are smart enough to see through that.
From my experience, which I admit is anecdotal at best, Engineering pays just as well as Business.
Comparing an undergrad engineering degree to an MBA is not a fair comparison: half of those MBAs also have an engineering undergrad (at least the males do anyway). Of course they make more money than someone with just a bachelors. They also have learned *why* things need to be "engineered", not just *how*.
If you start looking at post-docs in engineering, then you can start comparing to MBAs. That's a closer fit. Yes, post-docs have been in school longer, but any decent MBA program requires 3+ years work experience to get admitted to the program. In the end, its about the same amount of work.
MBAs will go on to run most of a company's executive staff, and if they are worth their salt and have the ambition, will eventually make CEO. Likewise, a post-doc with smarts and ambition will be tech founders, and start the next Google, and retire in style after making their name.
There is plenty of room for growth in engineering, and the sky is the limit if you are willing to (1) get educated, and (2) take some risks. This is no different than any other field.