http://www.asylum.com/2008/10/03/panhandlers-make-more-than-the-average-worker/ Do a search on "how much do panhandlers make?" and the results all seem to be the same. They all seem to make $100-$300 per day, while some are pulling in even more than that. This article simply says they average $30-$40 per hour, which comes out to $60k-$80k per year if they do it full time. How messed up is it that a drunk, drug addicted, high school dropout can make more money begging than a resident medical doctor 6 years into his residency($56k per year average)? And not to mention work less hours. http://mdsalaries.blogspot.com/2005/10/residency-salaries.html
There is a guy that hangs about outside of a local store. He has a sign that says "Less Fortunate"... a gal pal of mine got to know the guy, he lives in a little house and he is an expert in health and nutrition.. he's about 20 years older than you'd guess... I borrowed his cell phone to make a call the other day so I was asking about his sign and he says "I'm less fortunate than Bill Gates" with a straight face....
There is a guy in my neighborhood too. He has a sign that says "Terminal with brain cancer" He has been there since I moved to the area 4 years ago. He looks very sickly and frail when standing in front of the grocery store, but when he is walking home from his days "work" He walks very briskly like a healthy young man. He too has a cell phone that i have seen him talking on. The guy only stands out about 3 hours per day or so and doesnt seem to need to beg if its raining or too hot outside.
The homeless that get my props are the bottle collectors. If I see them digging in the trash for bottles or pushing a cart, I like to give them some money.
Those guys make less money than beggars though. I spoke to one that was digging through trash bins at my old apartment complex. He told me he averages $40 doing in 4 1/2 hours, so i guess thats a little less than $10 bucks per hour. Most surprising thing he told me was that he finds money in the trash all the time. Most of the time he says he finds it in plastic bags when people go to the store, they throw the change in the plastic and forget its there. He told me he finds wallets in the trash too. I have also seen people pull up in cars and jump in the trash bins in the early morning to get the cans/bottles and whatever else, so its not just the homeless that are digging though the trash.
I have seen people scavenge through customer's portfolios and digging around like bums to see what kind of positions in market are there by their clients. They are called Goldman Sachs employees.
Obviously you're not giving him anything, so why waste your energy wondering whether he's legit or not? If he thinks that's the best way for him to get by, and other people are willing to help him out then let it be. I think you'll be happier.
Fair question. The reality is the shift/contributions of taxes on expenditures of people making say 12k a year is growing. Ie taxing soft drinks, cigarettes.