ABC7 News:
A pregnant woman and her young son seen begging for money in a San Diego shopping center parking lot were caught driving off in a Mercedes-Benz.
Melissa Smith told sister station KGTV she saw the panhandler and her son at Eastlake Village Center every weekend for two months. The woman's boyfriend would join them on the weekend, she said.
"I felt bad. There's a pregnant lady with a little boy who is down on her luck," Smith said.
The woman would hold a cardboard sign that said "please help," and plenty of people did.
"Lots of people gave them money. Probably five people in five minutes gave them money," Smith said.
[...]
That license plate number led to an Encinitas apartment complex called Encinitas Heights Apartments. Residents said rent is $2,500 a month.
The resident of the Encinitas home responded to KGTV's requests for comment, but said she had just moved in. The couple living there before had recently picked up and left.
Nice hat.
Pride and shame don't exist anymore. Its all about the Government and free hand outs. Slow down these cockroaches. Zero Population Growth and Stop New Development.
ReplyDeletePopulation Connection describes their mission as such:
"Overpopulation threatens the quality of life for people everywhere. Population Connection is the national grassroots population organization that educates young people and advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources."[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_Connection
Oh please.... Stopping development does not stop someone from being an asshole. If you want zero population growth how about negative population growth.... Lead by example.
DeleteGo for it champ.
DeleteNo one will miss a slimy lying developer. Probably not even your mother.
But they need saturday night bar money for the new and improved vibrant downtown.
ReplyDeleteThere is more of a sense that people see it is harder to get ahead, so they take what they can. This is happening more at the higher levels. Ask Gus Vina and Glenn Sabine!
ReplyDeleteBottle service at Shelter is expensive.
ReplyDeleteGotta get mine somehow, yo.
Panhandling is just a career now; there are routes and drop off points for the more organized. Having a kid or puppy is a great visual; being pregnant with a kid is the quadruple cherries! The homeless stik is a ruse - most don't or can't do the 9 to 5 routine. As someone here remarked, there is no pride anymore in a lot of people (self respect). There are people in need, but they get lost in the crowd of hustlers. When people at the top have no scruples about ripping the system off, the "lower" (less advantaged) social tiers disintegrate.
ReplyDeletePanhandling is a job. The average panhandler in San Francisco near Fishermans wharf pulls down $90K. Same in Seattle at Pikes market. Try taking their spot and see what happens..... Oh yeah that's tax free money also.
ReplyDeleteSorry, 9:04, but there is no way the "average" panhandler near the wharf pulls down 90k. Think about the logistics - assume you're on that corner 8 hours a day, every day for a full year. That's an average of $246.58 a day in "donations", or 51 cents for every every minute. Please, use your brain before you type.....but if you provide a credible cite, I will apologize for my crass characterization of your intellectual abilities.
Delete- The Sculpin
Sculpin you have been shoveling too much horse shit, I suggest you get out a bit more. I've seen guys in SF pulling down $400 a day. Also know of a " homeless " guy collecting $400 in aluminum cans and bottles. Just because Olivenhain is immune to these guys on your streets and roads doesn't mean it can't happen. It does.
Delete9:45,
Delete"I've seen guys in SF pulling down $400 a day"
So you stayed with them over a whole day and did their accounting for them? Then stayed more days to make sure it wasn't an anomaly? And then you did the same for a representative cross-section of pan-handlers to make sure your data represented the "average?"
I'm just trying to figure out how one could know this data with the degree of certainty and precision you seem to have. I'm sincerely interested in learning more about your methodology. Please share.
9:45 - In college there was this guy who collected cans throughout the campus. Did it every day throughout the term. It got to the point that students would leave their cans in separate areas to make it easier for him He was always disheveled. So after a while, the campus newspaper did a piece on him. Turns out he made enough money to travel the world during the summer! After that article, no more cans....... My point here is that at that level, it is no different than a full time job. It requires discipline, coordination, some resources, and planning. And by no means was he pulling anywhere near the equivalent of today's $90K. I do shovel a lot of horse shit - that's why I can tell the difference.....
Delete- The Sculpin
I'll bet that was back when you could get a decent price per can. My understanding is the going rate per can is way, way down.
DeleteBut the larger issue is there will always be cheaters at everything. So it's not a question of if but how much. I see 9:32 AM below covered the same ground so I'll stop.
9:45 - $400/day in cans?? At $0.05 CRV, that is 8000 cans! Assuming he "works" 10 hours per day, he needs to collect 800 cans per hour, or 13 cans per minute FOR THE WHOLE DAY.
Delete9:45,
DeleteStill waiting to hear about the methodology that support your conclusions. Your silence leads me to suspect that it involves a magic trick, and the phrase "where the sun don't shine."
According to Alcoa it takes approximately 34 aluminum cans to make a pound. According to the Earthworks Recycling website (Spokane, WA) they pay 50 cents per pound for 50 pounds and over. So you would have to collect 1,700 cans to earn $25. To earn $400 you would have to collect 27,200 cans which would weigh 800 pounds. Simple.
Delete1:27, that's called scrap or melt value. It creates little incentive to recycle, so the state requires stores to charge an extra nickel per can or bottle. Next time you buy a six pack, look at the screen or your receipt, and you'll see a 30 cent "CRV" charge. You can get the nickel back if you take your bottles and cans to an approved redemption center.
DeleteWhen you dump them into your blue Edco bin, I assume Edco is out sorting them and claiming your nickel. Similarly, homeless people comb through public trash cans and your blue bin to collect the redemption value.
Basically, the CRV puts a bounty on each bottle and can to create a stronger incentive to recycle.
From the California website CalRecycle:
DeleteYou can get your beverage container recycling refunds on a per-container basis instead of by weight.
By law, you can bring up to 50 aluminum, 50 glass, 50 plastic, and 50 bi-metal California Redemption Value (CRV) containers in a single visit and request to be paid by count. You will be paid the full CRV redemption of 5 cents or 10 cents on each container. Inform the site attendant of your load content and how you would like to receive payment before you hand over your load.
Any consumer who has been denied this right by a recycling center can file a complaint via email or by calling 1-800-RECYCLE.
If recycling more than 50 containers of any one material type, the decision to pay by count or weight is determined by the recycling center operator. Make sure your containers are whole and free of contaminants such as dirt, excessive liquid or other foreign substances. If you are being paid by weight, make sure the load contains only eligible CRV beverage containers.
Daily load limits of empty CRV beverage containers are 100 pounds each for aluminum and plastic, and 1,000 pounds for glass. If the load includes containers not eligible for CRV, the recycling center must either reject the load or pay only scrap value.
I guess that's sixteen trips to the recycling center.
Not sure why my post just went missing.
Delete4:55, spam filter. I freed it if it's 3:53 above
Delete90k to panhandle on Fisherman's Wharf? I'm in!! Of course rent in the city is 100k.
DeleteLet's not take a single example, and make sweeping generalizations based on it.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a case of misrepresentation or fraud. Then again, this could be a couple who had a comfortable life in Encinitas who lost their jobs and their apartment. It's difficult to know without knowing where they moved to.
Assuming these are swindlers, is this evidence that there are no legitimate homeless--people who have lost jobs through substance abuse, mental problems, health issues, or just bad luck? Of course not. In any case, giving cash is probably not the most effective way to help them. My daughter was so concerned about local homeless, she helped us come up with a kit. She helps us pack gallon Ziploc bags with bottled water, snacks, hand sanitizer, toiletries, and a list of resources where they can go for services. We keep bags in the car, and so far, the recipients have all been gracious (at least, to our faces). We also contribute money and time to institutions helping at scale. I highly recommend the San Diego chapter of Feeding America (http://feedingamericasd.org/).
What I like to do is if I see a panhandler when driving into the grocery store I'll pick up some extra fruit, a few energy bars, a juice, and some kibbles in a bag if there's a dog, bag it all separately and hand it over on my way out. It's always appreciated. However, I always make sure I buy what I (and my dogs) like because several times they've been gone by the time I get into my car!
Delete- The Sculpin
I lose more respect for you with every stupid post
DeleteHow is begging fraud in the traditional sense? Begging is begging. The real story here is the growing amount of panhandlers and homeless folks in Encinitas and Leucadia. At least the bearded guy at the intersection of Leucadia and 101 is cool and has a smile.
Delete-MGJ
7:23 The one before him last year that JP took a picture of passed out in the park died soon afterward.
DeleteEmpathy and compassion is dead and buried in this country. People have become so obsessed with their own returns on investments and consumerism that they cannot even fathiom how degrading it must be for healthy people to panhandle and swindle just to survive. Given voting patterns since Saint Ronnie created the myth of the Welfare Queen, the 75% of Americans with "normal" mental health rarely take the time to even consider how awful life can be under the whip of depression, mania, schizophrenia, and addiction.
DeleteThe ironic thing is that the free-market rationalizers don't see how social programs have massive economic benefits that help offset the impacts of the libertarian/neo-liberal philosophy that deifies profits and excuses indifference .
Only give charitable donations to known organizations. The panhandlers more than likely will take your money to buy liquor, cigarettes or drugs. I will not be party to their bad habits or addictions.
ReplyDeleteParty on Garth!
ReplyDeleteWas it Sabine?
ReplyDeleteThere was a story a couple decades ago of a Hare Krishna guy that worked LAX. He supposedly took in 6 figures in the course of a year - it was daily. long aggressive hustles. He'd thrust incense and literature into your hands and then pitch for the donation. People then felt as tho they had to reciprocate monetarily and also wanted to get rid of the guy. It's all in the approach....
ReplyDeleteMost Krishnas use that money to feed the hungry, they helped me out in college without once pushing any of their religious claptrap on me because I asked them not to. Amazing people, really, better than most theists I've met. If this guy at LAX was legit, my bet is that donations had a positive impact for people in need.
DeleteYes, but what we all really want to know is how tall are the Encinitas Heights Apartments?
ReplyDeleteShe is in Dana Point at Golden Lantern Trader Joes all the time!Today A.M. first time Ive seen her with the baby in a stroller.The little boy must b at school.Hes always in the dirt playing.She has the same pants and purse as in the video.I told the store mngr. about the article and he said they cant do anything.Shes been around for about 3 weeks!Yep I bought her groceries before I had seen this!
ReplyDelete2:18, Aren't most gifts guilt trips? On the flipside, it was really good inscense.
ReplyDelete12:38 PM Guilt trips? Yes, I suppose so; if reciprocality under pressure is factored in. The incense was ok, but made people think you were masking the pot aroma. A lot of the time, that was indeed the case.
ReplyDeleteIf you give money to someone on the street for a particular reason, you should at least seek to determine if your reason is valid. If you don't, you'll be surprised how often you are wrong. The same people who feel good about themselves because of their emotional reaction to seeing someone on the corner are often the same who have no idea what they are talking about and make all sorts of assumptions. Often those assumptions are very disrespectful. Where's the real compassion? Is it just phony? Your trip to Hawaii last year could have funded help for that person on the corner. Your luxury was more important than helping that poor guy you gave ten bucks. But because you are "compassionate" you are a good person. Carry on.
ReplyDelete