"I would love to see either side of the debate pull this argument away from the hypothetical realm.

At least we know fairly objectively claims of economic harm caused by piracy are hyperbolic:"

The same could be said about DRM.

I agree, and DRM isn't always a bad thing. The GPL qualifies as rights management in my opinion.

As a Steam user I admit that convenience and reduced price can be make the negatives of DRM negligible.

This doesn't change the fact that DRM has little effect on piracy.(currently, at least)