it's the 21st Century...

electic guitars and amps, keyboards, microphones, virtual software instruments, etc
have never been cheaper, better quality, and more easily accesible to most ordinary families...

A kid who learns a few chords on an acoustic and still sounds shit,
might actually sound slightly more listenable on an electric...???

There you go pfr - what you have described is exactly what I said. On the path that you and GUEST Joe G seem to want to tread you HAVE TO be able to play to participate.

Taking your forum name literally, what punk-folk/folk-rock material can you perform a cappella? What material can you perform without there being a band behind you? What material can you perform totally acoustically? Now in complete contrast to all of that any old "Traddie" can sing any traditional song a cappella, he/she can do so entirely on their own, and they normally do that acoustically - the same applies to anyone who can hold a tune that walks into a folk club that supports traditional folk.