Here is a quick idea for you - Free Software tax.
Imagine a voluntary 1% tax that is collected by a non-profit US foundation from the people that signed up for the program. Imagine that amount exempt from the usual taxation. Imagine that money channelled to Eastern Europe or Russia or India or China or anywhere else where the cost of living is low and a lot of smart people live. Imagine then that students are hired for 4-10$/hour to work on free software tasks that are voted on by the "taxpayers".
So, anyone up to implement that? If you do, please contact me for coordination :)
Update: A USA foundation to get the money from USA, similar organisations in other countries would be needed to gather donations from that countries (in order for that money to be tax deducible). Of course students or other people from USA or Germany or UK or whatever would also be able to participate in getting the money, but the catch is - while 4$/hour in USA is half of the McDonalds pay, it is 4 times more then McDonalds pay their workers in Latvia. Quality control by feedback: after completion of a task - a mentor of the task leaves feedback in the profile of the worker.
Imagine a voluntary 1% tax that is collected by a non-profit US foundation from the people that signed up for the program. Imagine that amount exempt from the usual taxation. Imagine that money channelled to Eastern Europe or Russia or India or China or anywhere else where the cost of living is low and a lot of smart people live. Imagine then that students are hired for 4-10$/hour to work on free software tasks that are voted on by the "taxpayers".
So, anyone up to implement that? If you do, please contact me for coordination :)
Update: A USA foundation to get the money from USA, similar organisations in other countries would be needed to gather donations from that countries (in order for that money to be tax deducible). Of course students or other people from USA or Germany or UK or whatever would also be able to participate in getting the money, but the catch is - while 4$/hour in USA is half of the McDonalds pay, it is 4 times more then McDonalds pay their workers in Latvia. Quality control by feedback: after completion of a task - a mentor of the task leaves feedback in the profile of the worker.
7 Comments:
"by a non-profit US foundation"
Why US?
A "US foundation"? Free trade is one thing, but now you're asking Americans (and not Europeans or Japanese) to pay to send jobs overseas?
Won't you get crappy code this way?
In Poland you can donate 1% of your tax to any (specially registered) non-profit organization. There is one open-source organization that can receive the tax, but unfortunately not many people are aware of this possibility. And most people donate to those HUGE organizations that (as I see it) use the money to make business.
Also, I see some moral problems with that. Open-source IS important but there are some more important matters that require that 1% money (like - hungry children in Africa).
First I don't like tax. It's bureaucratic.
Secondly this will sound a little controversial, but I really don't the third world can develop software that at least I would want to use.
Less is more.
Free software is not socialism (in fact almost diametrically opposite), and it does not need to be supported by taxes. Governments should certainly make use of Free Software, and they could certainly use taxes to fund development of a project they need that doesn't already exist. The suggestion of a subsidy implies we can't stand on our own merits.
(By "on our own merits" I'm not attempting to disclaim the moral aspect of Free Software in favor of technical arguments only; however, governments should not legislate morality.)
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