How much do the homeless panhandling make? (Oakland: buying, middle school)

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by jade408

I remember one time at the cable car turnaround, a guy was playing the sax. This guy pocketed at least 5 bucks from every 3rd person. Later in the day we saw him driving around in a late model Cadillac.

@sonarrat do you play an instrument? A friend took up in the BART station for a day or 2 and picked up enough money for christmas presents.

I play piano. I've landed a job now, but I was thinking of getting a portable keyboard so I could take it to the Diridon Station and see what happened..

[gogetta]

I worked for Target back in high school and there was alway this one guy standing on a median at the entrance to the shopping center. I always wondered how much money this guy made. Well one day he came into Target and into my line to be buy batteries and he pulled out a wad of cash 3 inches thick with 20 dollar bills on the outside. It had to be $1,000 or so.

[415_s2k]

I work in Union Square and see the same people every day... the guy who stands outside the Walgreen's at Powell and Sutter and says in the most obnoxiously nasal voice, "spare change pleeeeeeease?" The hobo statue, who does the living statue thing, but is dressed like a hobo and can't actually hold still... the cat lady - literally - the one who wears cat ears and sometimes, a tiger suit, and has a cat (which has been absent the last few days - I'm worried). The guy with the accordion. The kids with tattooed faces who sit on Powell south of Geary with a half dozen dogs. The guy who routinely walks into take-out restaurants and pushes his hand into your face and shakes around a few pennies. The old Chinese guy who just says, in a raspy voice, "money!" and holds out a wooden cup.

I see them every day, and I have varying degrees of affection for some, and spite for others. Some - like the hobo statue (lulz), the cat lady (aww kitty), the accordion guy (where does a bum get an accordion, anyway??) - I feel bad for and give money to. Others - the kids (too aggressive), the nasally guy (too obnoxious), the guy who interrupts my lunches - I hope will just disappear at some point.

I see these people every day, and every day, I see people drop change and bills into their cups. I see people offer them food. I see them there rain, shine, day, night. It seems as though they fall into one of two categories: the ones who are just plain too nuts to hold a job, and the ones who are just plain too drugged out to hold a job. The ones who are nuts generally don't grate on me, because most of them aren't aggressive... just incapable of taking care of themselves and off in some strange other world that only exists in their minds. The junkies **** me off, because they need your money now to get a fix, and if you're resistant, they are more than happy to insult, mock, or threaten you.

I would not be surprised if some of these people can make $100-300 per day, in all truth. But the anecdotal stories of bums getting into Mercedes Benzes, I generally don't believe. These people are f'ed up. They don't hold onto the money they make. They walk down Ellis a few blocks and buy drugs. Whether an outright junkie or self-medicating mania or schizophrenia or whatever else, they aren't capable of putting that money in the bank or under a mattress, and later using it to get into a home or get a car or actually buy that ticket back to the home they tell you they have, across the bay or the country. They may have distant plans to do these things, but right now, they need some crack and a forty, and the fact that they pissed themselves in the middle of the sidewalk in front of all the pretty people shopping for handbags is just another day in the life.

[briantilesj]

I wish I could make that. The truth of the matter is (ironic or not this is my observation) people don't tell the truth because the truth is too ugly. You are all correct. Every person I have met aside from myelf is a drunk or an addict. Some have mental disorders. Some physical/ In both cases if they have a legitimate diability, they are probably receiving a social security check. I am not successful at this and I don't want to be. I'm not masochistic but I want it to be miserable. I want to feel the humiliation when people laugh at me or spit on me. Or call me lazy and worthless without ever asking why my Army Infantry job is incompatible in the real world, Craigslist skilled services has not section for paid killers.
I'll chill. What people think of me is none of my businss anyway. The reason I want to be miserable when I do panhandle is that I don't want to become complacent. That is the one factor I didn't see anyone hit. It is routine for these guy (and ladies.) I meet people who have been begging for 10 years. I'm thinking "What's the retirement plan like? Did you pay into our 401k and are you moving to florida to get a double-wide box?" They, and I don't include myself, have no ambition. Most of them would be considered a complete liability to any potential employer. I gave up on trying to figure it out. I am stuck but I am strong. I would rather be dead in 10 years than be holding a sign. I hate it. Every day is another day of feeling low. I just want to hang on to what I have left and to be able to hold my head up and walk with pride again.

[jeffredo]

Lived here too long and have grown extremely callous to panhandlers. Its been years since I've given one money and I'm in the Financial District every weekday. It may sound bad, but they're like pigeons or feral cats - the more you feed them they congregate (and the more aggressive they get).

[Snort]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

The majority don't make much at all...but I'm sure if you are smart enough and willing to work hard and lose all your morals and self-esteem...you can bank. I'm sure the "Bush Man" makes great money in Fisherman's Wharf.

One of my professors was telling me a story back when I was in school on how she gave money to a homeless man...she pulled up in a Mercedes...he looked really bad so she gave him some money...later that day as she was going into her car, she saw the homeless man go into a NEWER MODEL Mercedes and drive off...her brother or husband was a police man and she gave him the license plate information etc, but I thought that was funny.

I think the guy that pulls in a decent 'salary' is the guitar player at the lower corner of Ghirardelli who says, "Hasta la vista, bring me back some pizza" and other such lines. I think "Bush Man" just scares the crap out of people.

[20yrsinBranson]

Competition is tough....you have to be innovative.

Moderator cut: image removed

20yrsinBranson

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by Snort

I think the guy that pulls in a decent 'salary' is the guitar player at the lower corner of Ghirardelli who says, "Hasta la vista, bring me back some pizza" and other such lines. I think "Bush Man" just scares the crap out of people.

I've always wondered how often the Bush Man gets punched, or almost punched. I'm sure that there are plenty of people who don't take kindly to having the crap scared out of them (or their kids). The thing that pisses me off about that guy is that there are people out there with heart conditions or PTSD, and popping out of nowhere to shout at someone can set them off.

[jrb724]

These people make more than minimum wage panhandling, especially when the money they are getting is tax free. That is sad but true. As others have said, many of them are not homeless. You are already paying for those that are disabled b/c they get a disability check - not to mention all of the other programs designed to assist them financially. If you really want to help those less fortunate, donate to a reputable nonprofit organization.

[josh u]

All street beggars are one of the following:

1. Ex-cons
2. Drug/alcohol/gambling addicts
3. Mentally ill
4. Frauds

None of them deserve handouts. It's like giving food to squirrels; eventually they become dependent on the food and can't fend for themselves.

Personally I'd like to see a new law. Just like you aren't allowed to feed wildlife, it should be illegal to give money or food to beggars. They're the same