[RuthA]

Our television station back home did a show on this. One guy who made probably $500 a day would go get in a Cadillac and drive to a beautiful home. If you offered them a job they would say they couldn't work, even though their sign said "Will Work For Food". Almost always a scam.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The general sentiment of Floridians is that they don't WANT to pay more taxes. They're not willing to pay a penny more than they have to, especially if that penny goes to "those people."

So we have a lot of unemployable people in this state, who aren't in the "unemployed" category because they're not collecting unemployment and not actively seeking employment, because they've given up trying since they know no one will hire them.

Those are the truly homeless, the people who live in the Ocala National Forest. There are also a bunch there who are intentionally "off the grid" for whatever reason - but those folks don't go out begging. They are primarily self-sufficient and rely on bartering to get goods and services that they can't make or grow on their own.

A 1% surtax on services won't do any good, since we already have so many "handyman" grebbers who do all kinds of work here, and take cash or checks only, so they don't have to pay any tax or get insurance or be licensed.

And there are plenty of Villagers who are happy to get that discount and the convenience of immediate availability, in exchange for the risk of shoddy work or outright burglary.

We got suckered into that mentality our first year here. So when it came time to take the dead trees down because they shouldn't have simply been badly pruned by a couple of dolts with chainsaws, we went with the guys with the actual license, insurance, new equipment, and a truck with the painted logo rather than the crappy magnetic one they could slap on any personal vehicle to make themselves look legit.

We paid extra because of it but we had the peace of mind. And we don't mind paying taxes for services, if it means getting that peace of mind and an actual guarantee of professional service.

I agree with Warren Buffet's statement, "I want to be taxed more" - by the income bracket method. Sales tax is a flat tax that disadvantages the poor and lower-middle-class. Same with a 1% local tax - it IS not a PROGRESSIVE tax - it IS REGRESSIVE! That's why Florida relies on Sales tax - it helps out the wealthy class. It does have the benefit of hitting the tourist harder than the resident. And tourists from abroad and the north make bigger wages and salaries so they can afford it better than retired seniors.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Mother Theresa never debated with herself on whether or not she should help people who needed help. She just did it.

And part of me wishes I would have her strengths regarding everything she has done…. I wonder if she would have used organized help if it was available to her, did she not start an organization herself? It is not a question to me that the homeless need help, it is a question of how. I do not feel my individual help trumps a group’s dedicate to this purpose. At this time I prefer to assist the group.

[Heytubes]

When you give money, you are enabling them. ABC did a series where it shows they make 60 to 80 k a year tax free and also are getting government handouts. Stop giving and they disappear.

[davem4616]

I used to give to the guys holding signs "Please Help"....but too many of them see begging as a vocation

now I give generously to The Salvation Army...they seem to take the least amount of money off the top

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by RICH1

I usually drop off cookies that I get from the Open Houses! They get picked up in the evening by a white van... never followed the van but it's full... You will notice that as the weather cools down up north , we will be bombarded with snowbird bums... NC television exposed the scam, these people make approx 500-600 a Day...meth & Heroin is their drug of choice ... gotta love Television

$600 per day times-5 days per week (say as an average)-times 52 weeks gives $ 156,000. That will buy a lot of drugs! At 156,000 per year, all of us-ALL ought to take up that "occupation" and drive them out of business.
I wonder if you and I know about this "White Van" that picks them up - why don't the Police?????? Just asking?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

I don’t give them $$ because 1) I don’t get a tax deductible receipt, and 2) I don’t have the training to know who needs it and who doesn’t.

There are social programs that can help people in need, if they need it. If they don’t qualify, I conclude that it is for a good reason.

I agree with the contents of this post.

[Nanny32162]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

When we cross 441/27 to go to Walmart, many days there are homeless people looking
for money or a handout.

Do you donate to their cause?

What's you opinion on them being there?

Jesus told us not to judge, so I don’t have an opinion. If people are outside a store which carries food, I will buy nutritional food and water to give to them. When I eat out, I will have food I’ve not touched boxed with a to-go water, and find someone who is hungry. When we help one of the less fortunate, we are helping Jesus.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

It is certainly easier to paint everyone with a single brush. I wonder how many here I ever actually been homeless... I have for almost a year.

Yes, there are crazies, and yes there are "scammers", and yes there are lazy people. But, it is easy to judge without having lived and walked in their shoes. I can assure you, the system is stacked against you if you are homeless. You know you can not get food stamps if you don't have a phone and address? Ask me how I know. You know how hard a "real" job is to get with out a phone or address?

Anyway, just curious how many here dis'ing these people trying to get some kind of work, by standing in the heat on a corner waiting for a pickup to come along and ask they if they want a couple hours work.

It was about 1965 when I was age 24 and living in Omaha Nebraska, I would "hang out" with "street people" on the VERY low end of the economic totem pole. Some might (?) call that "slumming", but I had time on my hands. Many on the street were surprisingly interesting and NOT real dumb or "vegetables". There were some strange, memorable, and some sad and even dangerous ones (to themselves and others). Several I remember went like this......I drove a cheap convertible sports car with a "rapid fill" gas cap behind the heads of driver and passenger (s). I picked up 2 young street ladies (amateurs) - that made a pretty crowded front seat. We stopped in a park and one of the "seemingly normal" young ladies started sniffing deeply my gas tank. She said that she wanted to get "high". I said, "don't do that, it will destroy your lungs! I had to physically pull her back from that gas cap. That was NOT my FINEST hour!
Another experience was even stranger. I was walking, late at night, in downtown Omaha when I saw a crowd gathering - I went over. And I saw 2 adult men fighting - they were NOT your usual adults. It WAS a SAD scene. If only we had cell phones back, then we could have called the Police. They were both handicapped with no legs. They both were kneeling down on boards with small metal wheels on them. They must not have been able to afford a wheelchair. One man was getting the better of the other in the fight. He kept rubbing the sleeve of his winter coat across the eyes of his opponent - perhaps to blind him - as if they BOTH did not have enough problems! There was a crowd of about 15 normal, upright, church-going men AND women standing, watching, and being FROZEN into inaction about the event before them.
I thought about kicking the man that was winning, but I had 2nd thoughts about getting involved with a police report and it getting back to my job. So, I got myself frozen into inaction - I thought that maybe they were putting on a show for money because the winner might leave, and then the loser asks for money, and then they split up those gifts of sympathy. I debated and debated myself - then finally walked away. I was pretty much a coward that day. I still think about it.

So, speak about homelessness and man's inhumanity towards fellow man! I saw the most that I ever experienced that night in Omaha. That was NOT my finest hour and I still am not proud of myself that night. Sorry for the true confessions, but it does put a microscope on an example of sad and homeless people. That was 1965 and today, I hope, that society has improved? NOT sure though?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

Oh, and to the second part, I would not have accepted that either. I can assure you that would NOT have help me or anyone else get out be being homeless. I did it, I am here now, I know what it takes and it is NOT handouts. It is hard work at a good job. Raking leaves is NOT a good job. Sorry.

Thank you for revealing your soul and hard times. That IS the real American can-do spirit! Some great street philosopher once said. "What does NOT kill you makes you STRONGER". It seems like you lived that idea. Some weight lifters say, "no pain, no gain". Not sure if I ever believed that, but it has SOME truth. A person NEEDS the level of STRESS that motivates (not overcomes) them.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by NotGolfer

Live here long enough and the stories will be told. Some folks have spoken with them and they say they can make more $$$ panhandling than working. As another poster said, park some place near-by and watch them when they leave their spots. Many go over to a nice, expensive vehicle and drive away. Why is it you might see some, talking on a cell-phone. Where do they get $$$ for those?? Starting now and going til Spring the Roma folks come down and do their thing. Some drive by homes and offer to fix roofs or driveways. If they work at all, it's shoddy and then they leave. Talk to Seniors Against Crime about these people. Panhandlers often work for pimp-like people and have to make a quota each day. They might give a sob-story or their car broke down and a relative is dying and they NEED to get "there". Offer other alternatives and they'll get angry. IF you want to donate $$$$ give to a shelter for battered women, a pregnacy help center or the Salvation Army. Those panhandlers could be asking at such agencies if they truly needed help.

I have heard the "broken down car" story at rest stops.

[joelfmi]

Give them the money( entitlements)that is being used for these people(illegals) to the homeless so they can exist and take care of themselves. America First is what needs to be done.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Heytubes

When you give money, you are enabling them. ABC did a series where it shows they make 60 to 80 k a year tax free and also are getting government handouts. Stop giving and they disappear.

The scammers will just go somewhere else and scam other people. They don't disappear. Do you think human beings just disintegrate or something? Get real. That doesn't happen.

The legitimately homeless and unemployable will not disappear. They'll just be homeless and unemployable and hungrier than they were yesterday. They'll end up relying on public services more than they did yesterday. They'll get sicker more often than they did yesterday, because they'll be more underfed, under-housed, underclothed than they were yesterday, and end up taking up more space at hospitals and clinics than they did yesterday.

And then people will whine about how there's no space left for themselves, how there are more homeless people living in tents in the forest, more sick people spreading disease, more thieves stealing clothing off clotheslines, more burglaries, more robberies, more petty theft.

It's a horrible cycle that begins with a streak of bad luck, and combined with people who say "THOSE people aren't human, and don't even deserve to be treated like dogs."

People feed stray cats and dogs, but they won't feed a hungry human being.

I find that particularly insulting, as an actual human being.

[Rsenholzi]

I keep water in my car and will give them water. Sometimes if I have a snack I will give them that . However, the homeless are usually dirty and clothes are tattered.
This past week I passed 2 by because one had a brand new bike and the other had a designer haircut. If they can afford those they don’t need my water.

[jedalton]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The scammers will just go somewhere else and scam other people. They don't disappear. Do you think human beings just disintegrate or something? Get real. That doesn't happen.

The legitimately homeless and unemployable will not disappear. They'll just be homeless and unemployable and hungrier than they were yesterday. They'll end up relying on public services more than they did yesterday. They'll get sicker more often than they did yesterday, because they'll be more underfed, under-housed, underclothed than they were yesterday, and end up taking up more space at hospitals and clinics than they did yesterday.

And then people will whine about how there's no space left for themselves, how there are more homeless people living in tents in the forest, more sick people spreading disease, more thieves stealing clothing off clotheslines, more burglaries, more robberies, more petty theft.

It's a horrible cycle that begins with a streak of bad luck, and combined with people who say "THOSE people aren't human, and don't even deserve to be treated like dogs."

People feed stray cats and dogs, but they won't feed a hungry human being.

I find that particularly insulting, as an actual human being.

because human beings will go buy alcohol and or cigarettes with it.