[alisasny]

The "rich" tax money at work.

This is only the beginning of socialism in this country. Will get worse.

[TexasNative2000]

Peaceful, articulate and well-read, they're more likely to resemble Grateful Dead groupies than the freight-train-hopping hobos of yore.

Ah, yes. The noble poor are praised for their dignity. Those of us who actually WORK for a living are the materialist scums of the earth. . . .

[Republicus2001]

hundreds of dollars a week begging on the street. in L.A. the rake is about $200 per day / ~cost of a days worth of crystal...

[kellynla]

And who says socialism is dead...maybe dead in Eastern Europe but it is alive and well in the good ol' U. S. of A...Thanks to RINO's and the Dimwits we are all getting screwed royally! And we aren't even getting a decent kiss for our money!

[coloradan]

This is excellent!! With communication to one another, the homeless beggars can discuss amoungst themselves which place is the best location to beg at, and then they will all beg a bus fare to that location. The liberal socialist do-gooder utopias will gather all those folks, and everyone can be free of them! I'm guessing NYC and San Francisco will be popular spots. Maybe it will clear everywhere else out. Communication is good for free markets; let the markets decide where the begging is best! (And then maybe, maybe liberals in those places will start to see the consequences of their parasite-inducing policies firsthand.)

[RightWingAtheist]

Why, when I was a lad, we didn't call these people "homeless." We just called them SLACKERS!

[WestPacSailor]

I'm able to afford a cell phone, buy clothes and go to the movies once in a while," she said. "Part of the reason I'm living like this is to get away from the material life."

Huh?, cell phone, new clothes, movies...sounds fairly material to me.

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Yes indeed working regular hours is "rigid" and somtimes "stressful"

We certainly wouldn't want to force anyone to conform to such social norms, far better to enable the irresponsible behaviors. /scarasm

[wideawake]

The oldest of four children, he grew up on a 200-year-old Victorian estate in Chatham, N.J. and his stepfather sells municipal bonds at HSBC Bank on Wall Street.

This is enough information in his father's social/business circle to immediately identify and embarrass his father.

I could probably track his dad down in fifteen minutes if I wanted to.

What a little snake this "son" is.

[Astronaut]

Here in the Northwest, the problem of homeless scum taking over the streets has reached absurd proportions. Try to walk downtown in Seattle or Vancouver BC, and you'll be accosted over and over again by the "homeless". Most are young and appear able bodied. No reason they couldn't be working. The older ones are usually severe addicts and/or mentally ill and need to be in a psychiatric hospital. Government handouts of cash don't help either group. All it does is fuel their addiction or their chronic laziness. I stopped giving money years ago to the homeless, and I urge friends not to be taken in by the scam.

[wideawake]

"There are 31,000 abandoned buildings down there," Dawn said. "Ideally, we'll be able to live for free."

Of many entertaining quotes from the article, this may be the best.

[freebilly]

"I've done some hard drugs, like a lot of us around here. But not any more frequently than anyone else our age in New York." She said she's been trying to get a job as a janitor all summer, but no one would even talk to her.

"People here suck," Karen added.

Don't you just love the sense of entitlement this kid has developed. I wonder whether she'll vote Demorat or Republican?

[googling monkey]

Can you hear me now? How about some change for some Boone's or Ripple..

(I usually give them $1.00 McDonalds gift certificates just for the looks on their faces)

[Clemenza]

I see these a--holes all the time on St. Mark's Place. They have never gotten a dime from me. They make more money then I do at my crummy retail job.

[Steely Glint]

Beggars need to be imprisoned.

If someone is legitimately incapable of working, there is Social Security.

If someone is capable of working and begs, they need to be put in prison for a while to learn better.

[bk1000]

'she's been trying to get a job as a janitor all summer, but no one would even talk to her'

What's pierced? How many tatoos?

[veronica]

...Can you hear me now?