Mining is only dead for those whose electrical costs are high enough to actually strip out any profit given the coin they are on.
Mining may be dead for one person, but not at all for another. Blanket statements like 'mining is dead' are made by newbies who are simply new to the profitability cycle of virtual currency and who likely came in merely for a quick speculative buck based on something they read or where told. These same newbies always make the mistake of thinking that their ROI will be a linear constant. It almost never is. It could be sped up in impressive fashion (re: latest altcoin explosion over the winter), or sit back and plod along like stuff is now.
In short, you either give yourself the necessary time to potentially break even in the least - or simply don't even get involved in the first place.
Remember, the lazy person always starves - the same is true for altcoin mining. If you don't work at it, you will starve too. The profitability landscape is always shifting: one must adapt to the shifts. Nothing ever dies.
Silly post.
Lets say you invest $20k into mining with GPU's for Alt's, you simply CANNOT make your money back mining, PERIOD, THE END! How hard is that to understand? You are commenting about people making money now? I think youre confused. The only people making money are those who started in 2011. Their mining operation paid for all of their expenses by now. If you are just starting now, or even a few months back, you will NOT be able to break even. You are either confused or way too optimistic, which in this case is a lost cause. Bottom line is that people who started mining 2 months ago and going forward will not break even, even if bitcoin price goes up.
Alts were tanking when Bitcoin was at $660, which is about a month and a half ago, they only follow it to a certain degree. Litecoin has been the most stable at around $25. Alt's are simply pump and dump. No one excepts them as a viable currency like bitcoin, and majority are premined and then sold when the value goes up.
If you are in it for the hobby then by all means.