1973 was almost 40 years ago. You should not have the right to profit from your work forever. 40 years is more than enough time. As such, I don't feel the least bit compelled by the second part of your argument. If Disney goes broke because Steamboat Willie has finally entered the public domain and is blatantly copied in Russia, I don't think anyone is going to shed a tear.
I'm inclined towards a 30-45 year term of copyright myself, but that sort of change would have to come from Congress. I'm just not optimistic that this is the breakthrough case we've all been waiting for.
