At the beginning, I prefer to give everyone the benefit of doubt, but I don't make a decision in either direction.
First, it unnerved me that he was praising me without a good reason and his comments focused on his fundraising 80% of the time.
Reading his English, considering his costs, and his fundraising page were too much, so I made up my mind. Asking for a $500 donation seems like shameless audacity to me. :)
I was also sorry that he already collected victims from my readers. One of them, along with this fictitious "Libor," apparently, preferred to stuck to their decision and unsubscribed from me. I am always glad, if people who don't belong here, leave.
Damn I thought you were talking about Israel or NGO's or Non Profits or Candidates in public office or running for office. These beggars are very Professional. And do far far better than the bottom tiers. Check out how much wealth is extracted by Charity.
In Olympia, the professional beggars stake out their turf on specific street corners where it does not bode well for interlopers. After we leave our local food bank, we occasional see a person with his dog by Walmart. We give him cereal and canned goods which homeless people say they prefer because they don't have to cook or heat these items. I volunteered at one food bank for 5 years and most homeless people will find a way to get there for food, clothing, and donations from the churches and generous people who give rides, but not money (addictions to alcohol, tobacco too common). I wasn't aware of the extent of the slave system you describe! Whoa.
When I stop and ask these people, have you gone to Social Services? They take a step back and don't know how to answer. I tell them the Illegal Aliens that come into our Country get taken care of with all the essentials including taxpayers money. There is NO way that those people are going to make enough money to pay their rent let alone for food on street begging money.
You might very well be surprised at just how much cash these "beggars" actually collect in a day;
Take that shoddily dressed "poor" bugger working his butt off at the traffic lights dangling a bucket at windows at every red light; Yes, every red light;
At that Red light he might be quick enough to get to 10 cars...maybe more; Now, out of that ten cars, he will collect from at least a third of them; Lets say that he collects a single dollar from each "donation"; That's 3-4 dollars at Every red light;
Now lets safely assume the traffic lights change every 5 minutes; that's 12 red lights every hour; Right there is an average of lets say $40 per hour;
If that "poor" bugger has brought enough water and a bit of food with him stashed in a safe place, he could stay there all day; most of the time they have a partner who brings food and water to them;
So, an 8 hour day might likely see that "poor" bugger net easily $300 for the day;
The next day. then the day after, then the day after is a different set of traffic lights every day;
Still think that "beggar" can't afford food or a roof over his head?
I have witnessed one such "beggar" ride away on a $10K motorcycle that he had parked around the corner;
That getting up and hitting red lights everyday has to be monotonous. He works harder than a person that gets up and goes to work everyday. I wonder, if he uses the money
We have also asked about their awareness of programs and services. Some have, most do not want to meet the requirements for participation. I have asked social workers to go to them, but that has rarely worked. Some people prefer to live on the street. Ray makes a good point by calling them professionals, it's where they want to be.
My city is full of professionals. What wised me up was hearing about how some panhandlers fight with each other to defend "their" corners; additionally, it's a rare panhandler that appreciates non-cash donations. Some have quite the set-up, including pets, coolers, and furniture. I guess if you can make tax-free money, without having to show up at a job on time, or clean yourself up, or have people skills, panhandling might be somewhat of a lucrative gig, depending on the area.
I inquired how much this one fellow made on one street corner near a Costco and main stop light. It was close to $3,000 a month. I was shocked to learn that it was more lucrative than a job! I have since brought dogfood and water for the dogs and cereal or canned food for the men. I rarely see women here locally.
$3,000 a month isn't going to impress a bank to finance a mortgage. Especially as the income is unofficial. Beggars obviously make more than most of us probably thought but not enough to get them out of the begging game.
As Stegiel said, there are some who don't call themselves beggars but who are and are raking it in.
I did the same thing. I called Social Services and that's what they told me, too. The people on the street have to seek help on their own or they just don't want it.
It must be the common denominator. The homeless, hungry, or jobless have to be the ones to initiate entrance into these programs of their own accord. My friend has an adult son who could live with his mother, but he chooses to live on the street. He doesn't want to conform to social norms. In our small town, we have a quarterly fair where all of the social services providers have booths for the public to learn about and begin the registration process. This seems to work fairly well for those who simply don't know such programs exist. For the professional beggar, I assume that they wouldn't even bother to attend such a fair.
There were no "mandates" placed on the Homeless Ray;
I would safely suggest that the majority of the Homeless stayed right the hell away from anybody promoting "free vaccine";
The majority of Homeless have zero trust in Authority of any kind and an even equal number who are on the streets do so simply because they have had it with the "system";
Sometimes i have asked myself who the smart among us really are; I mean, up until recently i was paying the "Authorities" to "allow" me to keep the things that i already own through fruit of my own labour; How stupid is that?;
I still own my home, my car and many other "things" but no longer am i going to pay some "authority" for the "privilege" of being able to keep what i worked for; I will fight them with Law;
If i chose instead to live in a park somewhere in a pretty flash tent near the water, i pay nobody a zack! Better still, i trade my home for an RV as you guys call them and i park the thing wherever i like and again, pay no one a dime. Maybe i put on some shoddy clothes and go work the traffic lights when i need some cash;
Most people are under the delusion that all homeless are lawless dropouts with no regard for anyone or anything; I can assure you that is simply not the case;
There are many "homeless" communities scattered throughout some of the best locations in Australia; Right on beach fronts, rivers and pristine bush lands; They have community Laws; They all protect each other and their belongings; They all have jobs to do within the community; There are communal kitchens, toilets, wash rooms etc...... all get taken care of by members of the community;
Anybody in that community who isn't actively involved in some way shape or form is not welcome; anybody who does wrong to another or the community is not welcome; The only thing they don't have is "money" or very little of it; Some work jobs; enough to keep some luxuries like good steak and a bottle or two of their favourite drop or the like coming in;
Not all homeless camps are like what we see in California or Portland
How come Mark got banned Ray? Not sure about these homeless camps of his, I've never run across them in my travels up and down the Australian East Coast (and once the West Coast) but who knows.
From Libor, probably not. I have revealed him for what he is. I have also unsubscribed from his site and modified my Christmas welcome message in his "honor."
Apparently, "Libor" still "Likes" all my comments, which is not visible for you. :)
Was surprised at your promotion of the one armed bandit.
Didn't seem legit to me.
Came out of nowhere with all cylinders firing, and not shy about asking for money.
At the beginning, I prefer to give everyone the benefit of doubt, but I don't make a decision in either direction.
First, it unnerved me that he was praising me without a good reason and his comments focused on his fundraising 80% of the time.
Reading his English, considering his costs, and his fundraising page were too much, so I made up my mind. Asking for a $500 donation seems like shameless audacity to me. :)
I was also sorry that he already collected victims from my readers. One of them, along with this fictitious "Libor," apparently, preferred to stuck to their decision and unsubscribed from me. I am always glad, if people who don't belong here, leave.
Did others notice that this newcomer liked all their comments.
I know that I am a brillo commenter, but I was feeling groomed, softened up for a donation.
Appeal to my vanity.
Yes, it upset me, but I let him go all the way in order to make sure he would reveal himself.
Damn I thought you were talking about Israel or NGO's or Non Profits or Candidates in public office or running for office. These beggars are very Professional. And do far far better than the bottom tiers. Check out how much wealth is extracted by Charity.
Oh, yes, they are.
In Olympia, the professional beggars stake out their turf on specific street corners where it does not bode well for interlopers. After we leave our local food bank, we occasional see a person with his dog by Walmart. We give him cereal and canned goods which homeless people say they prefer because they don't have to cook or heat these items. I volunteered at one food bank for 5 years and most homeless people will find a way to get there for food, clothing, and donations from the churches and generous people who give rides, but not money (addictions to alcohol, tobacco too common). I wasn't aware of the extent of the slave system you describe! Whoa.
When I stop and ask these people, have you gone to Social Services? They take a step back and don't know how to answer. I tell them the Illegal Aliens that come into our Country get taken care of with all the essentials including taxpayers money. There is NO way that those people are going to make enough money to pay their rent let alone for food on street begging money.
You might very well be surprised at just how much cash these "beggars" actually collect in a day;
Take that shoddily dressed "poor" bugger working his butt off at the traffic lights dangling a bucket at windows at every red light; Yes, every red light;
At that Red light he might be quick enough to get to 10 cars...maybe more; Now, out of that ten cars, he will collect from at least a third of them; Lets say that he collects a single dollar from each "donation"; That's 3-4 dollars at Every red light;
Now lets safely assume the traffic lights change every 5 minutes; that's 12 red lights every hour; Right there is an average of lets say $40 per hour;
If that "poor" bugger has brought enough water and a bit of food with him stashed in a safe place, he could stay there all day; most of the time they have a partner who brings food and water to them;
So, an 8 hour day might likely see that "poor" bugger net easily $300 for the day;
The next day. then the day after, then the day after is a different set of traffic lights every day;
Still think that "beggar" can't afford food or a roof over his head?
I have witnessed one such "beggar" ride away on a $10K motorcycle that he had parked around the corner;
That getting up and hitting red lights everyday has to be monotonous. He works harder than a person that gets up and goes to work everyday. I wonder, if he uses the money
for food and a roof over his head?
Many buy drugs an alcohol.
Actually, if they don't have to pay for protection, it's quite lucrative. After all, there is a sucker born every day.
I used to tell them to find friends of family and occasionally dropped a dollar for a really old-time alcoholic...
That's what my Father would always say: "There's a sucker born every minute".
We have also asked about their awareness of programs and services. Some have, most do not want to meet the requirements for participation. I have asked social workers to go to them, but that has rarely worked. Some people prefer to live on the street. Ray makes a good point by calling them professionals, it's where they want to be.
My city is full of professionals. What wised me up was hearing about how some panhandlers fight with each other to defend "their" corners; additionally, it's a rare panhandler that appreciates non-cash donations. Some have quite the set-up, including pets, coolers, and furniture. I guess if you can make tax-free money, without having to show up at a job on time, or clean yourself up, or have people skills, panhandling might be somewhat of a lucrative gig, depending on the area.
I inquired how much this one fellow made on one street corner near a Costco and main stop light. It was close to $3,000 a month. I was shocked to learn that it was more lucrative than a job! I have since brought dogfood and water for the dogs and cereal or canned food for the men. I rarely see women here locally.
$3,000 a month isn't going to impress a bank to finance a mortgage. Especially as the income is unofficial. Beggars obviously make more than most of us probably thought but not enough to get them out of the begging game.
As Stegiel said, there are some who don't call themselves beggars but who are and are raking it in.
That's really nice that you help them out. I feel so bad for their Doggies. God Bless YOU....
Yes....we know areas where the same people hang out on the way to work in the morning.
I did the same thing. I called Social Services and that's what they told me, too. The people on the street have to seek help on their own or they just don't want it.
It must be the common denominator. The homeless, hungry, or jobless have to be the ones to initiate entrance into these programs of their own accord. My friend has an adult son who could live with his mother, but he chooses to live on the street. He doesn't want to conform to social norms. In our small town, we have a quarterly fair where all of the social services providers have booths for the public to learn about and begin the registration process. This seems to work fairly well for those who simply don't know such programs exist. For the professional beggar, I assume that they wouldn't even bother to attend such a fair.
These people might also become one of the first remote-controlled zombies...
There were no "mandates" placed on the Homeless Ray;
I would safely suggest that the majority of the Homeless stayed right the hell away from anybody promoting "free vaccine";
The majority of Homeless have zero trust in Authority of any kind and an even equal number who are on the streets do so simply because they have had it with the "system";
Sometimes i have asked myself who the smart among us really are; I mean, up until recently i was paying the "Authorities" to "allow" me to keep the things that i already own through fruit of my own labour; How stupid is that?;
I still own my home, my car and many other "things" but no longer am i going to pay some "authority" for the "privilege" of being able to keep what i worked for; I will fight them with Law;
If i chose instead to live in a park somewhere in a pretty flash tent near the water, i pay nobody a zack! Better still, i trade my home for an RV as you guys call them and i park the thing wherever i like and again, pay no one a dime. Maybe i put on some shoddy clothes and go work the traffic lights when i need some cash;
Most people are under the delusion that all homeless are lawless dropouts with no regard for anyone or anything; I can assure you that is simply not the case;
There are many "homeless" communities scattered throughout some of the best locations in Australia; Right on beach fronts, rivers and pristine bush lands; They have community Laws; They all protect each other and their belongings; They all have jobs to do within the community; There are communal kitchens, toilets, wash rooms etc...... all get taken care of by members of the community;
Anybody in that community who isn't actively involved in some way shape or form is not welcome; anybody who does wrong to another or the community is not welcome; The only thing they don't have is "money" or very little of it; Some work jobs; enough to keep some luxuries like good steak and a bottle or two of their favourite drop or the like coming in;
Not all homeless camps are like what we see in California or Portland
How come Mark got banned Ray? Not sure about these homeless camps of his, I've never run across them in my travels up and down the Australian East Coast (and once the West Coast) but who knows.
I hear you. I know what you mean.
I wonder if you'll get a reaction. I am going to keep myself posted.
From Libor, probably not. I have revealed him for what he is. I have also unsubscribed from his site and modified my Christmas welcome message in his "honor."
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/who-really-is-the-enemy
Kudos to you.
I used to be like your mother but I mended my ways.
I was a bit concerned that some of my readers fell for it and donated. I was simply waiting until it was all clear.
It's the Joke of the Year, already. How about that?
What is?
Your revelation.