African leaders are pushing a "Tech Tax" that would go into a UN-sponsored fund and build the technology infrastructure of developing countries.

NOTE: Please visit the page where I got this illustration, by Los Cybrids. The words here express my overall view of the matter better than this blog item can.

On the surface, a "tech tax" sounds like a very good thing. It has a laudable goal. I'm very much in favor of telecommunications development everywhere. It brings markets together. It raises people up, brings them education, gets them into the mainstream. It's great.

But in practice, this proposal sucks. It sucks big time. Here's why.

Where's the money going?

If it's going to governments (and the UN is a government-to-government body) it could be going directly into Robert Mugabe's pocket. People like him are the problem, not the solution, and anything that puts money into his pocket just makes the problem he represents bigger.

If it's going to telephone companies, well, they're often units of state governments, or subject to shakedown by officials in those governments. Again, corrupt governments are the problem. You don't want to feed it.

Are we talking about valuable entrepreneurial projects? They can get their own money.

Here's my own proposal.

Let's set up a Foundation with donations from telecomm players around the world. The Foundation would be managed by technical experts who know what they're doing. Their grants would go to people, like the MacArthur Grants do, and in fact would bring with them the kind of publicity MacArthur Grants do.

They would act, in some ways, like venture capital, emphasizing innovation, large bang for the buck, and value to the people rather than governments or other stakeholders.

But a tax? Give money without control to people you know have been guilty of crimes against development?

Heck, no.