If you're a fast runner running against another fast runner, having the right running shoes (light enough, with spikes) can mean that extra second it takes to win. But if you're a slow runner, having the best running shoes on the planet won't help you win the race. You have to train—you have to get faster, to get your body in shape.
I've seen some pretty amazing stuff done with Illustrator or InDesign. I've also seen people have these professional tools and manage to create ugly, ugly images and designs. And I've seen a professional graphic designer make a work of art from a Google Doc. I'm not joking.
If I have the choice of having a true artist use MS Paint or of having a hack use Photoshop and Illustrator, I'll take the true artist any day.
Actually I beg to differ slightly or at least qualify your assertion. True artists will use the right tools or at least tools that are sufficiently good enough to get the job done in a crunch. MS Paint does not fall into the category of the “right tool” for anything serious, lacking many of the industry standard features for image manipulation.