honesty

[kevin37b]

My wife witnessed something today and is very frustrated. My wife and daughter were at a drive thru window picking up lunch and she noticed a woman walking down the sidewalk carrying crutches on her shoulder walking just fine. As the lady got closer to the corner she started limping like she had a hard time walking. When she got to the corner she put a crutch underneath each arm and pulled out a cardboard sign stating she was homeless and needed money for medicine for her foot. How many dishonest people like this are out there?

 

[Mud Mechanik]

Sure makes it difficult to help the ones that actually need help. I took an exit off of the interstate last summer to get fuel and noticed a "homeless" man standing near the on-ramp holding a sign that said "hungry, need food, or will work for food", so I purchased an extra 3 piece chicken lunch combo. When I stopped and offered it to him, he said get that s$#@ out of my face. I now have a hard time being sympathetic to people begging on the side of the road.

 

[ovrszd]

We have people on the tax payroll in Congress that do much less for much more.

Or how bout the "oh my back, I can't work anymore" people that draw a monthly salary and never have to leave the house or interrupt their physical play activity at home??

Or how bout our President who while talking to a group of kids the other day about his experiences growing up had to use a tele prompter??

I could go on and on. This lady is only getting paid if someone feels the urge. All examples above are getting paid daily.

 

[rekees4300]

Currently around 9 million on SS disability. Probably < 1/2 are legit.

 

[ovrszd]

Currently around 9 million on SS disability. Probably < 1/2 are legit.

I've got one that lives 1/2 mile from me. Another that lives neighbor to our farm. They hired a lawyer to get on disability so they'd make sure and qualify.

so the lady on the street seems pretty harmless.

 

[TCJatko]

I've got one that lives 1/2 mile from me. Another that lives neighbor to our farm. They hired a lawyer to get on disability so they'd make sure and qualify.

so the lady on the street seems pretty harmless.

She's probably drawing disability too.

 

[MossRoad]

My wife witnessed something today and is very frustrated. My wife and daughter were at a drive thru window picking up lunch and she noticed a woman walking down the sidewalk carrying crutches on her shoulder walking just fine. As the lady got closer to the corner she started limping like she had a hard time walking. When she got to the corner she put a crutch underneath each arm and pulled out a cardboard sign stating she was homeless and needed money for medicine for her foot. How many dishonest people like this are out there?

Lots. One of our local TV stations followed a local "character" from his usual corner. He walked several blocks and met up with another local female character. They walked a dozen blocks to the bus station, took a city bus to the next town over and went into a nice house. They went to the door and tried to ask him questions. They got the door slammed in their face. Guy moved to a different corner for a few month but is back to his regular. Alternates between the same man and women.

If you are truly concerned about society, do not give money to pan-handlers. Give money directly to local charities or volunteer to work at those organizations, but DO NOT give individuals on the street money.

 

[LJH]

IMO, local is the key word here. In our community it's common to see a donation pot at cash registers, raffles, races, rodeos and other stuff to benefit an individual or family in need. And even in this rural and decidedly not affluent area, they're always well-funded because we know it's both legit and appreciated.

 

[MotorSeven]

There was a guy in Ft Lauderdale that used to have a sign that said, "Who am I fooling?...I need a BEER!" He always seemed to be running from car to car gettin $.

 

[creekbend]

When We lived in Florida, every heavy populated City had Bums on the Corners. If One wants to see raud, irsthand, just go to the local SS Office and observe the people going from their vehicles to the front door. Their health seem to diminish greatly during that short distance from car to front door.

 

[kenmac]

Saw 1 standing at an exit off the interstate Friday with a sign "will work for food" just off the exit is a Mickey D's with a sign '' now hiring'' .I have no idea why this man with his will work for food sign just didn't go put in an application at Mickey D's

 

[MtnViewRanch]

There is one of these guys at a corner by the local Walmart. Out at that corner about 8 hours a day 5 days a week. (seems like anyway) I saw him one day at his quitting time ( I guess) he walked across the street to the Taco Bell parking lot and put his sign into a Lexas SUV and then went into the Taco Bell. Saw him another time do the same thing, but this time he put the sign into a Honda SUV. So apparently he does good enough to have a decent car or two. :confused2:

Actually I was thinking that maybe his wife worked at the Taco Bell, but I have no idea, or do I care. If people want to give their money away, that's up to them to do so as they see fit.

 

[Cat_Driver]

This scam goes WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY back. Years a go one of those TV crews filmed a guy begging for money as a bum, followed him till he got in a new Jeep commander and drove off.
Is this your lady that she saw.

Fake Beggar Scam Busted - YouTube

 

[DT86]

Currently around 9 million on SS disability. Probably < 1/2 are legit.

Yup. I know a guy on disability for a bad back that breaks horses and builds barns for ca$h.

Total POS IMHO.

 

[bcp]

Signs:

25 Awesome Homeless Guy Signs » Holytaco

Bruce

 

[Cat_Driver]

I've offered a dozen guys work that said" will work for food" not one ever took the offer, never even asked how much, just said no thank you. Other beggers who say they want food, so I buy them a burger and most get PO's that I hand them real food - proof they don't need or want food.

 

[DT86]

There is one of these guys at a corner by the local Walmart. Out at that corner about 8 hours a day 5 days a week. (seems like anyway) I saw him one day at his quitting time ( I guess) he walked across the street to the Taco Bell parking lot and put his sign into a Lexas SUV and then went into the Taco Bell. Saw him another time do the same thing, but this time he put the sign into a Honda SUV. So apparently he does good enough to have a decent car or two. :confused2: Actually I was thinking that maybe his wife worked at the Taco Bell, but I have no idea, or do I care. If people want to give their money away, that's up to them to do so as they see fit.

The one time I went to DC (don't remember the year, Clinton was in the White House and I was too young to drive) we watched a street drummer putting his buckets in the back of a Range Rover.

To be fair he never said he was homeless but he obviously did well off of tips alone.

 

[newbury]

I've come to the conclusion that some people can't think their way off the dole. They would rather spend the effort to get something for "free" than to get twice as much with a little extra work.

They get stuck in the poverty ruts and can't get out. Meanwhile they are constantly bombarded by commercials that show "the good life".

After I graduated from college in '73 I couldn't find a job in my profession (Biology) that would allow me to go "up the ladder". I had paid my way thru college and had a couple of grand

The unemployment rate was starting to climb and I was constantly being turned down for "beginning" jobs (like lab assistant) that were being sucked up (and rightfully so) by medics returning from 'Nam. So the summer of '73 I hitchhiked across America to look for jobs in California.

During that time I met a lot of people that didn't have the benefits of a decent education and great parents and were a lot poorer than I was. I worked a few odd jobs while applying all over California for jobs. Most of the people I met that begged for subsistence were "honest" and "trustworthy" to people in their group or gang.

For strangers they were as honest as the day is long, in Prudhoe Bay in late December that is. And trustworthy as in I could trust them to take advantage of me if they thought they could.

It's one thing to see people in homeless shelters or youth hostels while your watching TV in your lounge chair, it's quite another to be in the shelter. And I imagine quite another thing if you think you can't get out.

I got out.

I'm much more concerned about corporate welfare and lies. What's worse $1.7 BILLION for GM or $1.7 Billion for welfare?
Which is more dishonest begging and pretending your handicapped? or telling things like cigarettes are good for you or you can eat a spoonful of DDT?

 

[ultrarunner]

For some it's become a way of life...

As a young guy earning $2 an hour I gave a woman $10 because she said she had no food for her family...

Saw her a few days later and she asked for more just as a police officer walked up...

The officer asked me if I knew her and I said I gave her $10 the other day to buy food for her family... he laughed and said she's a hustler and has no children...

Learned my lesson that day...

It is sad because the city is filled with hustlers....

Posted before about a woman that approached me with a small dog in her arms... she was all smiles and said she had no money to buy dog food... I told her to wait right there and reached into my car and pulled out two packs of Kibble I had just bought... she said, "What's this" and I said dog food... then she got angry and said her dog only eats people food and stormed off yelling at me...

 

[Gunny]

a couple of years ago in Lexington, KY they arrested a guy that used a wheelchair (he was physically OK) to roll around the shopping malls and beg for money. He told them that he usually made about $80K a year, but had gotten as much as 100K, just from begging.
They checked his record and found that a few years prior, he'd been locked up over an insurance scam.

From all the records I could see, this guy hadn't held a real job for over 20 years.