Isn't TaskTurtle Just Digitized Gypping?

A Twitter friend of mine, @melissahallny, posed a question this morning: "What do you think of this? Online marketplace connects the homeless with tasks in exchange for food?" She pointed to an article at Springwise that on TaskTurtle, a site that enables users to assign homeless or elderly individuals specific tasks in exchange for food or $2.

Rude is my initial thought.

Before you jump down my throat and go into how this site could provide the less fortunate with jobs, etc., consider what $2 can buy you and the fact that a meal is fleeting. Do you really think cleaning your gutters or painting your fence, tasks that can take a couple of hours, is worth a couple of bucks? That rate is $1 an hour. The site even calls out, "Pay close to nothing!" Exactly -- it's practically nothing.

If you're going to hire someone to complete chores around the house or to run errands for you at least pay them what the job is worth. What would you pay someone who isn't homeless, for instance? Why should someone's current financial situation affect how much you pay them? When you get a job, you don't tell your employer what your monthly rent or mortgage payment is. Instead, you tell them what you'd like to be paid for that job and negotiate your salary.

Luckily, TaskTurtle is a spoof concept, says Springwise. It was pitched at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in September. "However, for social entrepreneurs around the globe, there’s inspiration here," it adds. Hmmm -- I guess you could say that. The concept is pretty great -- employing the homeless and those looking for work and all. I just hope if/when this product becomes a reality, the less fortunate folks vying for gigs are not gypped.

Photo: TaskTurtle