Can you really Rent a Coder?

Can you really Rent a Coder?<p>I don't think this blog post even attempts to answer that question. Here is a post on the subject that links to some decent content:<p><a href="http://calacanis.com/2005/09/07/rentacoder-com-and-elance-com-reviews/" rel="nofollow">http://calacanis.com/2005/09/07/rentacoder-com-and-elance-co...</a>

I guess whatever works for the person looking to make money works... but it's sad to think that people in the US have to compete on rates with people who will work for less than half of a living wage in the US. I mean, I'm sure <a href="http://www.odesk.com/companies/~~f2d09a6de7612bda" rel="nofollow">http://www.odesk.com/companies/~~f2d09a6de7612bda</a> has great skills, but so does someone who works for $35+. How do you compete in a market like that?

Is there a market for a moderated rentacoder? Think of the difference between yahoo answers and ask metafilter. Same goal, different leagues of quality.<p>/me has a startup idea.