Independent Programmers' No-Win Scenario

snydeq writes "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister writes about the no-win scenario facing today's independent programmers: 'In a knowledge economy, programmers rank among our most valuable workers, yet the current legal and regulatory climate makes a career as an independent software developer virtually a dead-end prospect.' Section 1706 of the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the hurdles and costs of obtaining health care for one's own family, a hostile legal climate in search of accountability for any defects in code — these harsh realities make it 'easy to see why software developers would give up on entrepreneurship. For many, the risks simply don't match the potential rewards. Better to keep their heads down, not rock the boat, and hope they can hang onto their jobs until retirement.' Great news for big software vendors, which will be 'ensured an endless supply of programmers desperate for the safe haven of a steady paycheck, predictable taxation, health benefits, and a shield from civil prosecution when their code turns up buggy. But where will the next Microsoft come from? A field that discourages self-reliance sends the message that the status quo is the highest goal.'"

Comments

Re:yeah. its much better to be p0wned

[h4rr4r]

I would rather vote for an actual socialist before a so called libertarian. As far as I can tell that party is made up of nutbags and racist nutbags and homophobic racist nutbags.

We need a actual centrist party, that has not sold out to corporate interests.

Re:yeah. its much better to be p0wned

[pydev]

"but it's all complete lies. They're really little different from the Democrats."

Republicans are quite different from Democrats: Democrats at least pay for big government through tax increases, Republicans just spend and leave it up to the next democratic president to figure out how to bring some fiscal responsibility back to government.