It's not about paying Google. People can buy gift cards with cash and do that; that's not the problem, especially not for commercial use. It's everything else that they're imposing or could impose on a whim and whose device it is they're putting restrictions on.
I agree; I expect that's already true?
In the GP I'm talking about people releasing FOSS and similar projects.
This is correct. The people who will refuse to pay $25 and sign their stuff are people with a political objective, not businesses.
It's not about paying Google. People can buy gift cards with cash and do that; that's not the problem, especially not for commercial use. It's everything else that they're imposing or could impose on a whim and whose device it is they're putting restrictions on.
Google will not accept prepaid cards for verification.
Google's identity requirements serve basic security needs and are fine.