Sorry, but I work for my own money. And thanks to the levels of freedom in this country, I can do what I like with it. And that includes giving it away to your version of an unworthy cause.
Have you ever talked to a homeless person? Or some teenager on the street begging for quarters? Do you know what kind of shame and embarassment these people have to endure every time they have to look someone in the eyes and ask 'Any spare change mister?'
And despite popular belief, homeless people, and kids living on the street are not just too lazy to get a job, they are not just too stubborn to do what they are told and go back home to live with their parents (for the kids). Not everyone who is homeless chooses to be homeless. Have you ever heard a 6 year old kid in an elementary grade class telling his teacher that he wants to grow up to be a homeless person, begging on the street to earn a living? I never have, and I doubt that anyone else has either. People don't want to be poor, they don't want to be homeless, they don't want to go to food banks, soup kitchens or beg for change either. But it's something that these people have to do in order to earn a living. Most of them are NOT alcoholics or drug dependant either.
So, get a job, go on welfare or something? Yeah, nice idea. But a little known fact about social assistance is that you have to already have an address to get some money. How do you pay rent with no money?? And how do you apply for a job when you have no address, no telephone for them to reach you? It's hard enough just to stay clean, considering that you don't have access to a shower or anything like that. Have you ever wanted to work with someone that smelled like old garbage? Probably not.
Have you ever thought of what you might do if both of your parents were killed in a car accident? What if you had no other family to go live with? At 16 years old, could you fend for yourself? Or what if your parents didn't die. What if instead, they split up and neither of them wanted you? Then your mother moves across the country and leaves you with your 'dad'. He gets sick of your shitty attitude almost right away and kicks you out on the street because you're too much trouble to deal with. Without ever having graduated from high school, what do you do now?
Aside from that, there are plenty of homeless people that have become criminalized just to prevent themselves from freezing to death in the winter. I actually met a man who would commit a petty crime every year around October just so that he would have a warm bed and daily meals inside a prison for the winter months. But he wasn't a criminal. He did those things because he didn't have access to any other way to keep himself alive. He didn't know how to make the government programs work for him rather than against him. And with a criminal record, it became near impossible for him to get any kind of job, even one paying minimum wage.
With many cities making anti-panhandling legislation, even asking someone for spare change has become a criminal act. Do you realize that it is a crime to be poor? People treat you like dirt almost everywhere you go, and you develop a nasty suspicion that every time the police are around, they are there to do something to hurt you. Besides, you really think that it makes sense to give someone a fine for pan-handling when the reason they do it is that they already have no money?? What kind of sense does that make?
As for fining people that give poor people money, that is also an unfair idea. It's not against the law for you to give your money to the Heart & Stroke Foundation is it? Who has the right to say what I should consider worthy of my hard-earned money more than I do?? Hopefully nobody!
And take some free advice: take an afternoon, walk down the streets where some homeless guy has had the nerve to bother you looking for a handout and take a minute to TALK TO THE GUY! Ask him how he came to be where he is, and how wrong his life went. I bet that once, maybe long ago, he was probably a lot like you. Maybe you'll not only gain a bit of understanding about the place of poverty in this country, but you may also give the guy $5, or buy him a bowl of soup.
Smart Mel, you are f*cking awesome. I adore this answer. I've actually spent some time with homeless people, and they need financial help, not lectures. They need people who understand them and respect them, not people who lord over them. You rock! http://answers.yahoo.com/question/accuse_write?qid=1006051116897&kid=NbUvWjG9VTEHToSVg4qG&s=comm&date=2006-06-01+14%3A46%3A20&.crumb=
It's probably not your business. Give to the charities you feel are worthy and allow others to choose who/what to donate to. Sorry, I don't mean to be blunt but we should be able to choose who we want to donate to in America.
I don't think the people giving money to the panhandlers should be fined, but I sure think that police or someone should check the panhandlers out and see if they are really homeless, etc. There are alot of false people out there making a good living panhandling.
absolutly, panhandlers should also be arrested and brought to justice by the IRS, everybody should abide by the same laws, even the ones who don't work. Also police can't control all the panhandlers in areas due to the overwelming population of these scammers. As soon as you give them money they go out by alchol or drive away in their shinny BMWs.
No.
I want to develop work crews. Round up all the homeless and offer them some work. I would provide training. I would provide shelter, not really good at first due to lack of budget. The workers would have to pay a portion of their income for shelter and food.
Although I would not preach nor prohibit, I would encourage avoiding spending the remaining money on self-degrading activities. My shelter would hold classes, dances, plays, etc.
I absolutely disagree with people getting fined for giving money to beggars, or unfortunates. I feel that the person that donates money to people like that, should be able to do so, but for window washers, such as in Toronto, they should ask first, and if they are aggressive, they should be the ones to be fined
You are sorry to say probably scared of these homeless people. It is an ignorant unawareness in us all that terrifies us.Thoes beggers have no other choice. Blame the governments for not properly helping these people or putting in the proper programs to get these people off the streets permantly.Mission houses and soup kitchens are all temporary fixes to an ongoing and sad epidemic in this country.
I don't think that it should be illegal for someone to give money to beggars. The definition for a worthy cause is different for everybody. You may think donating to a homeless shelter is a worthy cause, where an individual who gives money to a beggar may feel it's a worthy cause because they gave to them personally.
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