Beggars can't be choosers

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

"Affluent Beggars" making up to $800 a DAY

 

Is this what the country has come to? Honestly? Why work at all when you can have (charities, strangers, Government) give you money? Sounds like the way to live..hell I barely make $800 in 1 two week paycheck. If I didnt obviously at least have a set of god damn morals I think I could easily pass off as a downtrodden albino with no hair and be making several times over what I do now with no taxes or annoying stuff like that. But fuck it, Im saddled with a conscious that wouldnt allow me to sleep at night if I did.

 

I have no patience for people like this who abuse the system and take money from people who could legitimately use it and deserve it a hell of a lot more than people who have no reason not be working to support their family.

[Brett Favre 0]

I thought the title said "Beavers can't be choosers."

 

Oh, and if you really think this is a good idea, go ahead and try. Sounds fun. Jackass.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I dont think it is..but apparently there are plenty of people who do.

 

 

[BUTT 0]

If people are stupid enough to give them money, you can't blame them for taking it.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Agreed.

 

It doesn't seem like these people are hiding anything; people in the article claim to have seen them eating in fancy places and such.

 

Now, if they were dressing in rags, bumming money, and then hiding their faces when they ate in fancy places after changing into nice clothes, that'd be pretty outrageous, I think. This? Not so much. Not great, but not the worst thing ever.

 

Again, if people are gonna give them money....

[Jingus 0]

Upon doing a little research, this story sounds fishy. According to the article, they're staying in Ashland, OR long term. But according to Wiki, Ashland is a fairly small town of only 20,000 people. How the hell would these beggars somehow keep getting money from the same limited pool of beggees on a long term basis?

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

My town has a bum that we've been keeping alive ever since I can remember. If he made 800 bucks, he'd spend 799.99 on White Owl cigars and Kessler's whiskey.

[Jingus 0]

True, but there's a difference between a homeless alchololic and beggars who wear nice clothes, eat in expensive restaurants, and live in hotels which are at least ritzy enough to offer a continental breakfast. The news about a family of parasites like that would get around pretty damn quick in a town that small, and I can't see how anyone would give these fuckers money. This story just sounds like there's something missing.

[BX 0]

Tourists, my man.

 

Ashland is pretty close to Crater Lake National Park, and there's a TON of outdoors activities to do in the area.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I looked into this...

 

Ironically, after that article was published there was a big backlash against them, and the family had to leave Ashland. The guy even said they' weren't making much anymore as a result of the article.

 

Also, there was talk of them being audited.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I looked into this...

 

Ironically, after that article was published there was a big backlash against them, and the family had to leave Ashland. The guy even said they' weren't making much anymore as a result of the article.

 

Also, there was talk of them being audited.

 

Im glad to hear that, but still..its not like this is an isolated situation. If theres one family doing this in some small town in the Northwest, there are others who will probably make it a point not to advertise their situation.

 

I love this part of the followup article:

 

Pancoast, who admits he has a different perspective on reality than most, said he would like to get a job and stop living off the street.

 

"Ultimately it may seem like a cakewalk, but it takes a lot of energy to deal with it," he said. "We have to stay on the run usually."

 

Pancoast and Johnson said getting jobs would mean sacrificing time with their children.

 

They were spending time with them all right, exploiting them to make money off of people who actually haven't been turned off from giving to people, especially families who seem to be down on their luck or whatnot. If they didnt have the kids, I bet they wouldnt get 2 nickels from anyone because people are pretty much immune to adult beggars on the streets anymore. I would like to see them lose their kids though Im sure they'd defense it with 'the children weren't neglected", although they were clearly exploited and last time I checked, child exploitation is a crime and they were exploiting them to make money begging.

 

 

 

 

 

[Atticus Chaos 0]

The whole 'we don't work so we can spend all our time with our kids' is ridiculous. That's called life. You earn cash, the kids go to daycare/school.

 

 

And considering they seem to have sold the first two kids they had that wealthy californian couple (if you read between the lines in the first article that is basically what they're saying), I really doubt they do see their children as anything more than something to exploit for profit.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Alms for an ex-leper?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I'd be sorely tempted to give them something more meaningful than a couple bucks if I saw scum like that living in my town.

[Nighthawk 0]

It's not uncommon at all. I've met a few beggars who make not quite that much, but more than me.

 

Here in San Francisco, the line is often blurred between beggars and street performers, cause there's lots of both. Squatters, crust punks, junkies, what have you... basically anyone who you might see on the street and ask for money, there's tons of them here. And some of them make a lot.

 

I've seen some outright liars, too. Like this one woman who dressed in rags and brought her young kids out with her and said they were starving. She actually had a decent home and was provided for by her working husband. But the scheme worked.

[snuffbox 0]

Crust punks?

[Nighthawk 0]

DIY taken to the extreme. You just completely go off the grid as far as possible. No taxes, no income, you subsist on found objects and communal living. Sort of nomadic, but music is a bigger part of it. Some are straight edge, but drugs and booze often play a big role. These are the guys always giving me free drugs because of my GG Allin tattoo. He's kind of a patron saint of the ideology.

[snuffbox 0]

Awesome.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yes, "awesome", if your biggest life aspiration is to live on the street.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I think those guys are mostly dumpster divers, if I recall correctly. I hang out with a lot of these types of people, "bike punks", because they want to live the happy bicycling hobo life. I met this one kid who we called "Dumpster Dave" who just absolutely reeked any time you saw hi, but he was the nicest kid- like, 19 or so. Graduated high school, didn't want to do college or anything, so he set out from a couple of friends from Chicago and has literally biked around the country, stopping from time to time in towns he liked a lot. He settled on Portland for a while, but last I knew of him, he went down to San Fran. This was probably around October last year.

 

Pretty interesting lifestyle, considering he almost completely relies on the generosity of others and basic survival instincts to stay alive and nourished.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

I know many people like VX, except instead of biking, they hitch hike across the country. The city I used to live, would have alot of them spend the summer there. I hung out with one guy during the day in Toronto, and he made nearly $300 in 3-4 hours, then spent most of it on smokes and booze.

 

I don't know if I would be able to do it, but it's definately a different life style for some people. I don't see anything wrong with it, it's the only alternative to working and supporting the economy. If you don't believe in capitalism, there's no where else you can go, and alot of people would rather choose to live like this.

 

[Guest NYankees]

I remember reading an article in the New York Daily News about a woman who was living on welfare and was having all 5 of her children begging for money. She got into trouble after the authorities realized that she was having her kids skipping school to beg for money. The article claimed that each kid was making anywhere between 50-100 dollars per day begging for change. If you add up the minimum that they were getting and times it by 5 and 7 days per week that comes up to around 1500 per week at the very minimum and our stupid govt was giving her welfare, food stamps, etc.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Exactly. Which is why welfare programs need to be scaled back so people like that can't take advantage.