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aimeecc · 01-08-2008, 08:42 AM

How many cars go threw a busy intersection in a matter of hours? THOUSANDS. Let's say the light is red every 5 minutes. At each red light he gets $2 from panhandling. That's $24 an hour. Every time I get stuck at a red light with a homeless man panhandling, someone gives a buck or two or ten. I've seen a man get money from 5 cars IN A ROW. Whether it was $1 per car or $10, I don't know. But in less than 5 minutes he had at least 5 dollars. That exponentially increases around the holidays as people feel more inclined to donate.
An article was written in Austin when I was there as a student in the 90s. The University of Texas newspaper (which is quite liberal... UT and Austin are far left) followed a former student who dropped out and made a living off panhandling. By day he was a homeless bum in front of a bookstore. At night he lived in a nice apartment. Since that expose, the number of panhandlers in Austin has skyrocketed.

01-08-2008, 08:42 AM	#89
aimeecc Super Intendent Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 249	How many cars go threw a busy intersection in a matter of hours? THOUSANDS. Let's say the light is red every 5 minutes. At each red light he gets $2 from panhandling. That's $24 an hour. Every time I get stuck at a red light with a homeless man panhandling, someone gives a buck or two or ten. I've seen a man get money from 5 cars IN A ROW. Whether it was $1 per car or $10, I don't know. But in less than 5 minutes he had at least 5 dollars. That exponentially increases around the holidays as people feel more inclined to donate. An article was written in Austin when I was there as a student in the 90s. The University of Texas newspaper (which is quite liberal... UT and Austin are far left) followed a former student who dropped out and made a living off panhandling. By day he was a homeless bum in front of a bookstore. At night he lived in a nice apartment. Since that expose, the number of panhandlers in Austin has skyrocketed.