The Industrious Homeless

LewRockwell.com ^ | June 22, 2002 | Brad Edmonds

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http://www.lewrockwell.com/edmonds/edmonds111.html

The Industrious Homeless

by Brad Edmonds

My recent article on the homeless drew a few amusing responses from readers whose experiences confirmed one of my assertions – that many, perhaps most, of those who remain homeless for any significant length of time do so because they are simply averse to work. Given the natural disutility of labor, most of us are averse to work, and fortunate indeed are those who find jobs they love, or find they can be happy in any job. Most of us recognize that we must take the bitter with the sweet, and we toil while contributing to the creation of wealth and knowledge, losing half our earned income to taxes in the process.

Keep in mind that the following stories are not the results of a scientific poll, and are not being offered as representative of the circumstances of the modal homeless person. They still make for amusing reading, and learning more about these people can sharpen your wits for the next time you encounter them.

More than one reader informed me they’d one-upped my business card idea (I suggested that people give a Salvation Army business card to the next homeless person who wants a dollar): When approached by bums asking for money, they tried inviting the bums to lunch instead. So far, readers report that every offer has been refused, many of them rudely. This tells me that the homeless at least aren’t starving. One reader observed a bum sitting on the ground, wearing a cast on his leg. At the end of the day, the bum would walk home, carrying the cast under one arm. In my own experience working in a church office, I remember one panhandler walking in with a cane. The church office was bi-level, with a set of three stairs separating the foyer from the rest of the building. I noted him using the cane to help his left leg, and struggling considerably with the stairs on the way up. As he left, he had no trouble with the stairs – he didn’t use the cane or the railing – and limped on his right leg. Apparently the cane was a relatively new prop for him, and he hadn’t become accustomed to using it naturally.

One reader interviewed a few panhandling bums in a medium-sized city, and found they were averaging $150 per day in handouts. Given that the $150 is "net" of deductions (indeed, there are no deductions), if that amount is won daily over 50 weeks, it comes to $37,500, or the equivalent of a salary of $62,000, assuming that only 40% is deducted from that salary. Confirmation that figures in this realm are possible is provided by another reader 1,000 miles away from the preceding one. His favorite is a four-foot-tall bum who works the same busy traffic light every day. This reader has observed the bum driving away in a "big, shiny" truck, customized with an entry ladder to accommodate his stature. The bum has been known to taunt other panhandlers at the intersection, waving wads of cash to show his success at not working.

Remember the "will work for food" signs? Either those didn’t work – people didn’t give cash – or they did work, but not as desired – perhaps people offered jobs. The short bum above holds a sign that says "please help," sending the message that he wants only cash. Apparently it works. In my fair city, bums use the foot-in-the-door technique, proven by psychologists to be effective. This technique involves asking for a small favor first, then a larger one later; the mechanism by which it works may be the suggestion to the gullible target that since the person merited the first favor, he merits the second. Our bums start by asking you the time, which not only functions as the first favor but may get you to stop while they work their way closer to you; then they ask for the dollar (incidentally, Ben Franklin used this technique: When he was lobbying for a position in support of an early congress, all but one member voted for Ben. Ben later borrowed a prized book from the nay-voter, and that member was a big supporter of Franklin ever after. And yes, Ben borrowed the book with that purpose in mind – read his autobiography).

Zoos tell you not to feed the animals – among other things, it teaches them to be aggressive with visitors. One reader noted the "do not feed the pigeons" signs in his city, and their analogy to the homeless. If people feed pigeons, the pigeons show up bolder and in greater numbers; they also become dependent, and – not the least of considerations – they foul the surroundings. When you give panhandlers money, you tell them that they should keep doing what they’re doing for a living. You’re also keeping upon the rest of us the burden of their emergency medical care, keeping them in the business of fouling your city and making it more dangerous, and maintaining their vices. It is not soft-hearted to give money to beggars, it is soft-brained and counter to the purposes of civilization. If you are doing it, stop. If you have been just saying no, you’re doing the right thing. Keep it up.