If you're in texas, you need a license to engineer. They're reasonable though and accept the reality of business card engineers.

Think about it like this: What makes software any more or less of a profession than working at your favorite burger joint in terms of industry wide criteria?

Those percentage of SWE working on critical infrastructure should be licensed and legally liable, yes. You shouldn't need a license to build a CRUD app, just like nobody needs a license to build a treehouse in their backyard. You should need a license to work on a car's braking system (https://safetyresearch.net/toyota-unintended-acceleration-an...) or radiation therapy machines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25), just like you need a license to engineer a highway bridge.