this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025
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Work Reform
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Are you honestly glorifying panhandling? Baking in the hot sun, breathing constant exhaust fumes? While people avert their eyes, staring straight forward. As you watch the relief cross their faces when the light turns green? Buddy can you even imagine at hour 10, an old woman with pity in her eyes claims "Jesus will save you if you open your heart" and hands you a fucking fake 10 dollar bill with a bible verse on the back? And in the next instant you're being told to "get a job!".
I can't think of a more dehumanizing experience.
It really would make you feel outside society. You're ignored, as a person, and people look through you.
However, lots of minimum wage jobs are also dehumanizing in a similar way, but sometimes the pay is less than panhandling would be is OPs point.
Bring on UBI and we solve both problems.
This is why I do my best to at least acknowledge the person even if I don't have any cash on hand to give them. I do usually try to keep a couple small bills in my wallet, but I'm not always good at remembering to add more when I run out.
Instead of money. Keep a package of bottled water. You can use it and you can also hand one out if needed.
I don't think ubi can solve anything because landlords will raise prices taking all UBI as profit.
Fix housing and safety nets and ubi isn't needed. Add ubi without fixing housing and safety nets is a hand out for the owners.
If landlords raise prices, increasing profit, more people will rent or buy or build houses. Ubi will certainly cause inflation, at least initially, but Ubi can be raised in line with inflation. What's likely to work best to prevent inflation is gradual introduction and ramp up.
The poorest could go on to full amount to live, the richest, get nothing and change it every 3 months until all are in ubi. The transition could be over 5 years. It would still allow people to make choices and plan on that time. However, jacking up rents across the board wouldn't work as not everyone would have the same capacity to pay more.
If that worked there wouldn't be a housing crisis. Pricing has increased but that hasn't enough housing. It's been this way for decades.
Yes, as trying to have enough money for rent and to save a deposit and have food was nigh on impossible. Guaranteed income changes that.
Add to that a phasing in and it becomes difficult for landlords to raise prices.
There is a housing crisis as we, collectively, decoded that housing was a commodity, not a human right. Giving everyone enough money to afford necessities reduces a lot of problems for society in general and people on an individual basis.
Giving people more money to buy a commodity doesn't magically create more of the commodity. You said your UBI assumes the free market would provide more housing. But if the free market worked we wouldn't need UBI for housing. Housing supply would have already matched inflation.
The free market is providing housing, though. It is just a problem that most people now rent, so the houses are not owned by those living in the,. Homelessness is up, but nowhere near as much as the rise in populations. This is an almost worldwide phenomenon.
I already noted we need more housing. More money in people’s pocket can be inflationary, so we need to reduce inflation, bit abandon the idea, not abandon the housing problem.
Are you describing local minimum wage jobs or panhandling. Because that sounds like an awful lot of treatment for both.
Swap out the car exhaust fumes for gas stove fumes and the baking sun for the heat of a kitchen and you pretty much have what it’s like to work in a restaurant! Right down to the fake money that’s actually church pamphlets!
I guess it’s probably not very common for people to yell “get a job” at a restaurant server, though they do yell lots of other things (and bring screaming children with them).
Got damm!!
Good satire
I can. Doing the same thing you just described, but for less money, aka minimum wage.
Cubicles
Dude, shut the fuck up. I, very obviously, wasn't glorifying panhandling you fucking Twitter bitch drama queen. Fuck the fuck off
Dude those people make more than you can imagine, and I have thought of trying it myself just to see how much I can make (as a experience) then write an article on it. But I can't bring myself to go that low even for that. City of Tulsa allows panhandlers long as they wear a hi vis vest. Used to be illegal, and lot of them are not homeless or needy. Knew guy in Dallas that did this outside the apartments he lived in and he drove a Mercedes that waa in the 1990s.
I remember Fox News in Dallas that did a segment on panhandlers. The hidden camera one guy who held a sign saying "hungry " but when someone handed him a bundle of bananas he threw them in the gutter. They showed him later gambling in Las Vegas.
If they hit the right corner they can make a good 20 bucks an hour. Of course those corners you will see some fight for those good locations.
My brother even met three guys who took turns running one of those streets and he said they were banking more then he was
The point is you be surprised how many people will give these sign holders money. I even see people do it to the ones that clearly weren't homeless. Wearing brandnew clothes and shoes. Those flabbergas me. I mean if you are going do this at least look the part. Like the guy I knew who owned a Mercedes. He had a beard that he made look unkempt and dressed in dirty clothes. But made money. He said he had a bad day if he cleared less then 500 a day.
If you ever want to prove your point to people that can read, never ever include fox news as your source. You're selling yourself out as someone who doesn't give a shit about logic or fact.
Fox News is not a credible source
Not fucking Fox News like the cable network, but Fox news local channel hence why I mentioned Fox News Dallas. This long before Fox News bullshit.
Nothing owned by News Corp is credible
I don't csre what you believe, but again I seen it first hand panhandlers make lot more money then people know. Why the do it and promise the majority of them aren't homeless or drug addicts. They are your run of the mill con artist. Hell some making more then you and I at our day jobs.
If I had no self respect I probably give it a try. Sure beats working some of the shit jobs I have had to do to make a living.
lol okay buddy. I’ve volunteered with the homeless, who panhandle in many cities I’ve lived in, and I’ll tell you right now the majority of them are not con artists. I don’t think I’ve ever worked with someone who pandhandled who had somewhere to stay besides a shelter or some tent in the woods. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
I knew many that had houses and cars and lots of money so yes I do know what I am taking about.
Much like fox news, you are not a credible source. If you want people to believe you, you're going to have to do better than "trust me, bro". You may very well believe what you're saying, but why would anyone else?
Would you believe me if I said, I don't know, all the Italians in Astoria make a ton of money in elaborate underground boxing rings? I mean, maybe you would since you seem to believe Fox news, but you shouldn't because I just made that up .
Sure ya did bud
Yup, isn't that crazy, you downvoted what I said within 45 seconds of it being posted but have ran out of steam to argue and convince everyone you have a novel idea about homelessness and somehow the homeless are actually taking advantage of you.
I sincerely hope you take a moment to think about why you decided this was going to be your hill.
Than*
Aside from that, maybe be grown up and actually follow through with your argument rather than downvoting the moment you realize you're being ignorant.
You don't think it's odd at all that they have the same name and are owned by the same people and peddle the same messages?
But this time it's for meeeeeee.
Grow the fuck up