This discussion is moving too fast for me to keep up.
....
Which brings up another point. The nearest town to me has Help Wanted signs on just about every business. Yet there are people standing on street corners, begging. WHY?
They are on the corner begging because they have a criminal record and/or drug drink issues and they can make lots of tax free money working part time begging. Some, just like the lifestyle. They have no boss. They "work" when they want or need too. They don't have to do what others tell them to do....
Years ago I do some volunteer work with the Salvation Army during the bell ringing season. Some, not all, but some of the bell ringers are PAID to ring bells. I think the Salvation Army is trying to help these people with a "job." I was told their best, i.e., he brought in the most donations, bell ringer was a homeless guy. I guess he was a professional at it since he did it for himself as well as the Salvation Army. While he was getting paid to ring the bell, he could have made more money if he was begging for himself yet he was still helping the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army tried to give this guy a place to live, he was living in a tent, but he refused. He would not take work the Salvation Army offered, other than bell ringing. He LIKED how he was living. He did not want to be tied down in any way.
Decades ago, when begging was not as big as it is now, I heard of a beggar that had a very nice apartment, decent furniture, TV, and stereo.
For years before the lock down, I would see the same people begging on the corners. Same Time. Same Place. Same People. One guy had a cane and he would work that cane. Just lean on it and look like he was in pain and exhausted. One day, I saw him walking off his corner at the end of his "shift" and it was a miracle! You could see how well he walked! He had been HEALED! I guess all of the money in his pocket made him lighter on his feet. Never could figure out if he was walking to get on a bus or to where he had parked his car.
Some of the beggars are in bad shape and need help. The help is there for them. There is a reason they are living under a bridge.
The people I see out there day after day are working their job.
Later,
Dan
