I'm down with Joey D on this one.
Kickstarter is just another way for the vast majority of people to fund their own laziness and refusal to spend their own money on a project. Or, just to scam people
There are few legitimate circumstances where Kickstarter is a valid and reasonable option to generate working capital. However, just perusing that website, all I see are projects that have no point whatsoever, except for goading gullible benefactors into forking over undeserved dollars. I recall one instance where a couple of guys wanted pledges (what a PC term) so that they could travel the country and film / document / interview record collectors. Hmm....what about putting up your OWN money, or getting a loan from someone (family, friend, if not a bank?) And please, don't give that well worn, lame excuse of "banks are not lending" - maybe not to you, but you can use your credit card then. Got no credit? Got no money? Howzabout some self reliance then? Sell some of your possessions. Get rid of your i-phone, your cable TV. Don't go out drinking 4 nights a week. Stay out of the tattoo parlor and away from the bi-weekly visit to your hairdresser.
Go without, and put that money towards your project, your goal, your dream....What a concept. But not so in 2014, because that is how the world revolves. Zero self-reliance and accountability.
Kickstarter should have a strict set of rules which state that:
Anyone who collects money for a posted project must
1 - declare all money received (not classify them as "donations") as income which must be reported annually for tax purposes (like paypal does now)
2 - A Kickstarter recipient must fully refund all monies to pledgers if stated project as published on their website is not completed / published / etc as stated by the time / date established by the person who is looking for funds. If a project is gonna take 5 years, say so. Demand that a project must have an end date for completion.
