Yes, I can drive a stick.

The military in the 60s ran into this issue, GIs who didn't know how to drive a stick, and pretty much decided to go to automatic transmissions to the extent possible. Vehicles with automatics are a bit more expensive so the up-front cost went up. But maintenance cost went down. In part because automatics can be designed to protect themselves and, come to find out, a lot of those guys who claimed that they knew how to drive a stick really don't know how to do it without smoking the clutch.

Clutches burn out and most vehicles go through at least two or three in their life. Unless you do it yourself replacing the clutch can be the final straw and expense that determines when to give up on a car. Automatics pretty commonly last the life of the vehicle with one or two fluid, filter changes. Often not even that level of maintenance.

In terms of performance it has to be noted that most trucks that are used in all-terrain competitions have automatics because they are much faster going from forward to reverse and save a lot of wear and tear on drivers holding them on a slope. Yes, you can heel-toe the clutch and accelerator and maintain tight control but it is a tense exercise, tends to wear out clutches, and can damage knees.