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One local panhandler had a great scam going a few years back. He had a skinny dog with him and I believe more people contributed in hopes of helping the dog out than the man.
I have been downtown and usually bring half my dinner home. I have people ask for it and not money. I always give it to them. I had a young man outside the grocery store ask if I could buy him a few hygiene products. He looked dirty and not drunk so I gave him 5. I don’t give to people at stoplights. I have bought roses from people by the side of the road.
There is a lady who sits at an intersection near a freeway entrance in Detroit. She sits in a chair and reads a book. She rarely looks up from her book, even when people toss money into her bucket. I do not know how she does, but she is only there when the weather is nice, so she cannot b doing too badly. Not a bad job, sit outside in a chair and read a book and people give you money. I think I will offer her some additional books she can read.
Because panhandlers know there's a certain segment of society who are idiots and will give the panhandlers money.
And then there are those who don't question if the panhandler really needs the money, or what he's going to spend it on, it's arbitrary. They're looking for a future dividend.
Old Indian saying: Give $10 away and $40 will come back to you in some form or another.
I lived in Manhattan in a doorman building on 8th Ave and 14th St for about 10 years and in a doorman building east of Union Sq for another 10 years. There was a mother with 2 kids living in the first building who was a panhandler the entire time I was in the building. When I moved to the second building, there was an older couple who panhandled all the time in the Union Sq subway stop.
As much as we'd all like to see these panhandlers "go get a job", you can't deny the market is messed up when what they're doing pays much better than MW. People do what they can to survive. It's no different than those in upper, middle, or lower class statuses.
They probably won't be able to get a MW job, as these days, they all require you to list an address. If they're not homeless, some MW are quite difficult to get anyways. If they're working and homeless, they'll need access to shower facilities, somebody to pay for bus fare, etc. There's a lot more involved than just saying "go get a job" for these folks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuiteLiving
Isn't the basic difference one is being compensated for providing a service and the other is exploiting the kindness of strangers.
If the panhandlers are raking that much cash, then clearly they're providing SOME value. Otherwise, it would've stopped a long time ago
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuiteLiving
As for the president, you do realize there is a difference between not paying taxes and not owing taxes, don't you?
Except he still owes taxes.
There was even an expose where his father, Fred Trump, cheated the US government out of a whole lot of tax money. That makes these panhandlers look like chump change in comparison (pun not intended).
What taxes does he owe, how much, for what tax years, which government taxing authority is owed? Please provide a link to your information source.
TDS, so many afflicted.
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