+1
Gavin is trying to save Bitcoin, and that is highly praiseworthy. If he wants to centralize 'power' then he should go for it. But those other efforts will take him off on spaghetti-tangents of endless debates. They are not the silver bullets that Bitcoin needs.
Why? Because in the end, it's all about the infrastructure and its peripherals; no ease, no security, no trust - no liquidity and no Bitcoin.
There is a real need for development, and most importantly TESTING, of all the core bitcoin code. for this Gavin is 100% right that there needs to be some pooled funding and infrastructure.
Ok fine, but what do the donors
get for their donations to the pool? Well that's where the pooled marketing comes in. Just like your Chamber of Commerce promotes the city's member businesses as a whole, or an industry trade association promotes its members as a whole, the bitcoin association can promote its members' businesses.
Want to grow the whole bitcoin user base from 50,000 to 500,000 by running some ads? Or maybe setup a few more billboards? Well, become a member, donate to the pool, and your business will be included. It's not about power at all. It's about promoting our mutual best interests, which includes bitcoin adoption by a much larger group of people, and a solid infrastructure to support it.