Odd panhandler sign seen

[joshuaswatson]

quick rushed

I wrote that reply very rushed and quickly but email me if you want to talk more and I can reply with more thought..

[cicy33]

I agree with OP. While I have no issues with people who want to live their life just traveling around I do think it is just a ploy. You say that it is a great freedom but really it isn't. You cannot take care of yourself obviously if you are having to beg for money for food. This would be a true freedom thing if you had enough money to take care of yourself while you were doing the traveling. If you don't want to work and just travel around fine, but why should everyone else have to pay your way? And to be honest people that do this are the reason people like me hesitate to help out. You don't know who the real needy people are.

[frugalredhead]

It is well known that a lot of beggars actually do very well for themselves and just panhandle for extra money. Many aren't actually hungry, homeless, or anything of the sort.

The other weekend, we saw one with a sign that said "Sister kidnapped by ninjas, need money for karate lessons". I think people tend to give to panhandlers like that because they find the sign funny (this was on the edge of an urban college campus).

For me, if I see someone who is on the corner, I'd much rather bring them food than money. If they're really hungry, I'll actually be helping someone who needs it.

[rennigade]

It is well known that a lot of beggars actually do very well for themselves and just panhandle for extra money. Many aren't actually hungry, homeless, or anything of the sort.

Where is this "well known" at? Any references or statistics you can provide?

You along with many other people may have seen news reports where they bust panhandlers who are not homeless and make a living doing this. Its few and far between.

Im going to start spreading rumors that all cops are murderers and enjoy killing people just because we've been seeing on the news a couple instances of minorities being shot. Makes sense huh? Shame a few bad apples spoils the entire bunch.

[disneysteve]

It is well known that a lot of beggars actually do very well for themselves

Where is this "well known" at? Any references or statistics you can provide?

I have no trouble believing that some beggars make decent money. There is one guy who is always on the busy corner near my office so I see him regularly. Every time I'm stopped at that traffic light, I see at least 1 or 2 drivers drop money in his can. Let's say he gets an average of 50 cents from each person and he gets 2 donations during every red light. He's got to be making $15-30/hour tax free. Assuming he also collects social security disability payments, he's doing pretty well for himself.

Is that the norm? I have no clue. Would I want to spend my day standing on a street corner begging for money? Not a chance. But from a simply financial standpoint, it can be a fairly good gig.

[ua_guy]

I fill up at a truck stop, so I'm pretty sure I see it *all* on a daily basis. We all have choices to make, and me handing a couple of rolled up bills to someone who's out of luck isn't solving these problems at large, it's making them worse.

We have truly poor and vulnerable people in this nation and those are the people I choose to help. The ones I've met don't look like people begging for money on the street.

[greenskeeper]

I have no trouble believing that some beggars make decent money. There is one guy who is always on the busy corner near my office so I see him regularly. Every time I'm stopped at that traffic light, I see at least 1 or 2 drivers drop money in his can. Let's say he gets an average of 50 cents from each person and he gets 2 donations during every red light. He's got to be making $15-30/hour tax free. Assuming he also collects social security disability payments, he's doing pretty well for himself.

Is that the norm? I have no clue. Would I want to spend my day standing on a street corner begging for money? Not a chance. But from a simply financial standpoint, it can be a fairly good gig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdMe6GfxFsM

[disneysteve]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdMe6GfxFsM

Great video. I think that pretty well sums it up.

[rennigade]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdMe6GfxFsM

Once I saw this was fox "news" I had to turn it off. lol

Lets not forget...all the major news outlets are entertainment shows. They are in the business to make money from advertisements (commercials.) Their only goal is to keep you tuned in so they can make more money from ads. Dont be a sucker. The "news" is nothing more than a joke...at least from the major players, fox, cnn, msnbc, etc.

[frugalredhead]

Where is this "well known" at? Any references or statistics you can provide?

You along with many other people may have seen news reports where they bust panhandlers who are not homeless and make a living doing this. Its few and far between.

Im going to start spreading rumors that all cops are murderers and enjoy killing people just because we've been seeing on the news a couple instances of minorities being shot. Makes sense huh? Shame a few bad apples spoils the entire bunch.

I said "a lot". Not all, not most, just "a lot" If you google it, you'll find many reports and articles on the topic. Unfortunately you won't be able to find accurate numerical statistics for a population of people that are vastly underreported.

Bottom line is, if you are concerned that someone is hungry, buy them a meal, don't hand them cash. At least if you buy them food you know where your money is going.

[rob62521]

A number of years ago a young woman approached me in a grocery store parking lot saying her car was almost out of gas and could I give her some money to buy some. I offered to meet her at the nearby gas station...she drove there and said her dad called and he would give her money for gas...guess she wasn't as needy as she thought. She raced out of there big time.