I know programmers who fit your description but they are rare. I'm talking about extremely high-paid contract developers who operate as individual contributors and not as hands-off consultants. Those guys are brought in as firefighters on critical projects that are failing and have looming deadlines. For example, one of them has helped out on many sports video games, which have yearly releases on an immovable schedule.

Beyond that, most contract ICs are used as temporary headcount padding that are subject to much laxer hiring standards than full-time ICs.