Donating computers to services like this cuts severely into the supply of cheap, local machines that less-well-off hobbyists like myself strive to find. With more and more of these vintage and unique systems going to the crusher, the retrocomputing hobby will become exclusive to the upper class.

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I'm sorry, but what a load.

If you wanted to find these machines, you'd be able to.

Plus, nothing about working minimum wage (a place EVERYBODY has been) prevents you from having a bank account or opening a paypal account.

Electronics recycling goes on not to keep you out of a hobby (which you should consider leaving if you can't ever afford to consider paying for some of the material needs of that hobby) but to save the earth. These systems have dangerous and harmful chemicals in them, and if not stored properly or recycled, they can have a massive impact on the physical environment. This combined with the fact that most people who are already in the hobby aren't just collecting, they're hoarding, means that there really is plenty to go around if you ask nicely enough.

Plus, there's places other than thrift stores to get machines. You could post on the local freecycle, trawl the local freecycle, or do the same with craigslist.

There's no evil empire or machine to rage against here.