While I definitely can agree with the sentiment behind the original poster's post, I need to point out one thing: Black hat SEO will never go away.
I know it sounds crazy.
I know that there are lots of people saying that the sky is falling, but the reality is that black hat SEO will never go away.
Why?
Whenever Google comes out with solutions, there will always be people who will find ways around that solution.
There is no such thing as a perfect system.
Google is a work in progress.
While it is true that they've gotten much better in cracking down on black hat techniques, there will always be chinks in Google's armor.
This is why SEO will always remain a cat and mouse game forever.
Unless Google switches to a completely closed system, black hat SEO will still remain.
While the original poster is spot on in suggesting that we should create our own white hat websites, we should look at this as side projects.
The main focus should be if you're a black hat SEO is to step your game up.
Keep up with the times and roll with the punches.