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The economics of street charity
Freakonomics/NYT holds a symposium, including me, Nassim Taleb, Barbara Ehrenreich, Arthur Brooks, and Mark Cuban, with guest comments from Roland Fryer and Stephen Dubner. My first sentence:
I'm not keen on giving money to the beggar.
Here is another bit of mine:
Oddly, the case for giving to the beggar may be stronger if he is an alcoholic. Alcoholism increases the chance that he is asking for the money randomly, rather than pursuing some well-calculated strategy of wastefully investing resources into begging. But in that case, I expect the gift will be squandered on booze, so I still don’t want to give him the money.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on August 9, 2007 at 02:20 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
You could always carry small bags of nonperishable food that requires no preparation for such purposes. That is what my wife and I do when we're downtown or in other areas where transients are frequent. Sometimes, the bags also contain a 'prize', typically either a 50 cent Bible or a similarly priced piece of literature.
Posted by: David at Aug 9, 2007 2:48:56 PM
Even providing food leads to begging, however. While it's certainly better to give food, ensuring the contribution is not spent on alcohol or tobacco, it still encourages the socially wasteful activity of begging. I'd prefer to donate to a soup kitchen or shelter that will provide appropriately for those who are otherwise not able to do so for themselves.
Posted by: ah at Aug 9, 2007 3:01:36 PM
I have no problems giving a beggar some money. He'll probably spend it on the same thing I will if I am in a place with beggars. Mcdonalds and booze. Besides, it makes me feel better about myself and I find utility in that.
Posted by: Jacob at Aug 9, 2007 3:02:56 PM
If you were somehow tempted to read Taleb's *The Black Swan* please go here and read this first.
My God, the man could not order a hot dog without 20 minutes of anecdotes on what a wonderful
fellow he is.
Posted by: mkl at Aug 9, 2007 3:09:29 PM
The Barbara Ehinreich response is a joke right? Nobody knows how to suck the air out a room better than that woman.
Posted by: John Pertz at Aug 9, 2007 3:24:43 PM
Beggars surely provide a social benefit by allowing more people to feel magnanimous more often.
Posted by: chrisare at Aug 9, 2007 3:31:27 PM
"
We're in one of the richest countries in the world,
but the minimum wage is lower than it was thirty five years ago.
There are homeless people everywhere.
This homeless guy asked me for money the other day.
I was about to give it to him and then I thought he was going to use it on drugs or alcohol.
And then I thought, that's what I'm going to use it on.
Why am I judging this poor bastard.
People love to judge homeless guys. Like if you give them money they're just going to waste it.
Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do? Save it up and buy a wall unit?
Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He's homeless.
I walked behind this guy the other day.
A homeless guy asked him for money.
He looks right at the homeless guy and says why don't you go get a job you bum.
People always say that to homeless guys like it is so easy.
This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants.
Outside his pants. I'm guessing his resume isn't all up to date.
I'm predicting some problems during the interview process.
I'm pretty sure even McDonalds has a "underwear goes inside the pants" policy.
Not that they enforce it really strictly, but technically I'm sure it is on the books.
"
http://www.lyricstop.com/u/underweargoesinsidethepants-lazyboy.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcFJYLGmIPY
Hysterical and insightful.
Posted by: Randy at Aug 9, 2007 3:33:06 PM
I expect the gift will be squandered on booze, so I still don’t want to give him the money.
Don't you "squander" some of your income on booze?
What do you want him to spend the money on, medical school tuition? Give him money or don't, as it suits you, but drop the piety.
Posted by: Bernard Yomtov at Aug 9, 2007 3:38:55 PM
Dear Tyler:
Maybe, as an NYT columnist, you have some inside info on whether the NYT is ever going to report upon the rather humiliating "letter of clarification" that their star new blogger just released to settle the second half of John Lott's defamation suit against Levitt? You can read Levitt's letter of clarification here:
http://johnrlott.tripod.com/uploaded_images/LevittCorrection-735079.jpg
The NYT's reluctance to report bad news about their blogger/columnist (which they also displayed in 2005 when the WSJ and the Economist, but not the NYT, reported Foote & Goetz's discovery that Levitt's famous abortion-cut-crime theory was based on two technical mistakes) might be an interesting topic for you to analyze using sophisticated economic concepts such as "self-interest."
Posted by: Steve Sailer at Aug 9, 2007 3:39:02 PM
I'm not a Chiristian myself, but I do like Jesus' approach to the problem. "If a man asks for your shirt give him your cloak also." No means testing, nor questioning of motives or opportunity. Just respectful recognition of our neighbors' need and humanity.
Charity used to be considered a Christian virtue. Charity means loving unconditionally, answering people's needs without judgement.
When I meet an alcoholic begging for money, I would like to give him enough money to go into rehab. I can't. Given that probably nobody will do so on a given afternoon, I don't feel at all bad about giving him enough to help him not have delerium tremens for one night. Handing him some money I would like to hope is a gesture towards acknowledging him as an equal, not as a child.
I give money to beggars. Am I a sucker? Probably. Yes. I am a sucker. I'm proud to think that I am a sucker and not a mean, judgmental, suspicious tightwad. So in that one tiny respect I think that I am little bit more like Jesus than I am like George W. Bush. And sometimes, that IS the choice we have to make.
John Mark Rozendaal
Posted by: John Mark Rozendaal at Aug 9, 2007 4:00:32 PM
"I'm not keen on giving money to the beggar."
I couldn't stop laughing when I read that for the first time.
Posted by: Samir Nurmohamed at Aug 9, 2007 4:09:28 PM
I don't give to beggars because I feel it creates positive reinforcement that begging works. What I don't understand is the aggressive attitude people adopt once they don't get what they want from you. If I didn't give to them when they were civil, why would I give to them when they're aggressive?
This question became even more apparent when I ignored a beggar outside of a convenient store one night a few months ago. He began shouting expletives, followed me to my car and started kicking my door. I simply drove away, so his intimidation clearly didn't get him very far.
Posted by: Martin Gordon at Aug 9, 2007 4:45:44 PM
My wife once tried to rent a room for a homeless woman. The woman would not accept because she was afraid of the pesticides that they use in motel rooms. It is not easy to help the homeless. They often have mental illnesses. Fortunately in our area there is a homeless ministry that most of the local churches support and they have psychiatrists who volunteer and they distribute meds for mental illness. I give to that ministry rather than directly to the homeless.
Posted by: Floccina at Aug 9, 2007 4:55:32 PM
I tend to donaye money to old decrepit beggars, but not younger apparently able-bodied ones. The old beggars have most of their life behind them, their will and ability to learn is gone and its just churlish to hold their failure to prosper against them or to elevate some theory of moral hazard over the suffering standing right in front of you.
Even as a non-christian, I believe charity to all who need it is a virtue and its exhibition makes the world a better place for me to raise my kids.
Posted by: guy in the veal calf office at Aug 9, 2007 4:56:00 PM
Robin Hanson has an interesting proposal to alter the incentive structure of these situations. He calls it, "Charity Angels."In ancient mythologies, including the Bible, gods would often wander the earth dressed as beggers. Sometimes they would be travellers looking for a place to stay. Whoever took care of these gods, even though they looked like beggers, was handsomely rewarded. So, according to Hanson, here’s what we do. We pick a group of homeless beggers and designate them “angels.” If some enterprising person takes one of these angels in, and nourishes them back to health, gets them on their feet, or brings them to some generally agreed upon standard, then that person is rewarded with, say, $10,000,000. Now the whole point is the public doesn’t know who the angels are. So now they have an incentive to help beggers, in the hope that the one they’ve chosen turns out to be the angel.
What standards do you think we'd have to set for this to work? And how much money would you have to offer?
http://ruedesquatrevents.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Rue Des Quatre Vents at Aug 9, 2007 5:02:38 PM
Squander? They'd clearly rather spend their money on booze than anything else. Why do you question that choice? Where's the libertarian? If you're so good at it, why don't you tell me what to spend my money on...
Personally, I give homeless people booze. In big bottles--if you just give them money they end up buying those tiny little mini-bottles or fifths for inflated prices, instead of buying in bulk. You might as well give half the money to the liquor store owner...
Posted by: Adam at Aug 9, 2007 5:19:12 PM
I'll sometimes give beggars a bit of cash. I don't factor in whether they're going to spend it on alcohol much - if they're hungry, I assume they'll buy the food first and the alcohol with any remaining funds, and if they're self-medicating a mental illness or have a physiological dependence, they may benefit the most on the margin from spending the money on intoxicants. I don't know enough about the beggar's situation to be able to believe that I can make better choices.
The main factor for me is how I'm being begged - polite beggars are more likely to get money from me. Aggressive begging is unpleasant to be on the recieving end of and consequently more likely to result in the beggar attracting negative attention from the police or spill over into political support for measure that make life even more difficult for the homeless (such as attempts to ban distributing food to the homeless in public parks). As a beggee, I probably can't influence deep seated behaviors like substance abuse problems, but I can encourage less socially corrosive forms of begging.
Posted by: MattXIV at Aug 9, 2007 5:31:02 PM
"First, drug dealers and other criminals hold lots of cash — why should I help them out?"
Why do you consider drug dealers to be criminals? Do you consider liquor dealers to be criminals? Did you consider homosexuals to be criminals before Lawrence v. Texas?
Posted by: HL at Aug 9, 2007 5:51:52 PM
You know, if you boil it down to substance, I actually like Taleb's answer best. But God, could he be any more of a d*ck about it?
Posted by: jeebus at Aug 9, 2007 6:07:39 PM
Since when are drug dealers criminals? Politicians who pass laws against drug dealing are criminals.
Mark Cuban's comment is by far the best and has the virtue of being short. Whatever else Taleb is, he is also a pompous ass.
Posted by: Bill Stepp at Aug 9, 2007 6:35:11 PM
Martin Gerson wrote:"I don't give to beggars because I feel it creates positive reinforcement that begging works. What I don't understand is the aggressive attitude people adopt once they don't get what they want from you."
It is interesting that Gerson uses the term "positive reinforcement." The term comes from B. F. Skinner's writings on psychology, education and conditioning. Gerson's use of the term implies that he sees himself in relation to the beggar as an educator using a notoriously manipulative pedagogical method. If the beggar percieves this I would say that his aggression is very understandable (if not in his own self-interest).
Posted by: John Mark Rozendaal at Aug 9, 2007 6:59:25 PM
Although I’m atheist, I defer to Jesus on beggar-related matters. He said, if a man asks for your coat, give him your cloak too.
Jesus was as terrible an economist as he was a carpenter. Ehrenreich doesn't even make an attempt at logic. If it makes her and Jesus feel all warm and fuzzy it must logically make the world a better place too.
Posted by: Jason Malloy at Aug 9, 2007 7:00:02 PM
Taleb makes pretty much the same mistake. He answers the question thinking only of his own totally arbitrary emotional motivations. Um, fantastic, now why not try thinking about whether or not giving to street beggars actually improves the lives of street beggars or if it ends up hurting more people on average? Then the next time someone asks you for money, your decision won't be based on meaningless, self-centered criteria - like whether or not you saw Sally Struthers on TV that day - but on steady logical principles.
Those principles might be flawed, but at least it will stop you from acting arbitrarily on your impulses like an animal.
Posted by: Jason Malloy at Aug 9, 2007 7:29:57 PM
I think giving to beggars largely depends on the context. There are some places on this earth where people simply have no hope. Obviously the opportunities for beggars in say the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami area are going to be quite different than the opportunities afforded to those living in the Sudan. In some countries people have no hope because the political context is much much too suffocating. The government in so many cases either has a foolish draconian vice grip on the economy that precludes people from attaining any semblance of material wealth, see parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa if you need an example. Or the government is nothing more than a crony oligopolistic cash cow for the ruling elite.
However, in the U.S, even though the public school system in this country has much blood on its hands when it comes to poverty, there are still opportunities available to the underprivileged who want to work hard and attain scholarships. When it comes to the U.S I guess my answer is to side with Cuban, however, when it comes to the poor living outside of the big 13 I guess I am closer to Ehinreich.
Posted by: John Pertz at Aug 9, 2007 7:55:11 PM
I also was appalled at Taleb's complete nastiness and lack of professionalism. I liked Fooled by Randomness, and his attitude doesn't change that, but man, what a jerk!
Posted by: dave at Aug 9, 2007 8:05:50 PM
An serious argument against your position by someone who actually knows something about homelessness from 1994:
http://www.amazon.com/Homeless-Christopher-Jencks/dp/067440596X
The lineup chosen to debate this topic is worthy of Fox News at its very finest: look, Ehrenreich, a liberal! Who defers to Jesus! What fair balance! That said she wasn't bad, and Taleb had the good sense to attack the question.
The utter lack of empiricism in all the responses -- and the self-confidence you and Dubner had in your judgment -- was quite disappointing.
Posted by: Sam Penrose at Aug 9, 2007 8:14:46 PM
Tyler,
I'd appreciate your take on Muhammad Yunus' loans to beggars through the Grameen Bank.
John
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/BeggerProgram.html
Posted by: Shakespeare's Fool at Aug 9, 2007 9:06:19 PM
she isnt keen either:"Panhandler shot to death
Woman charged with murder after being asked for 25¢"
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070808/NEWS01/708080411&template=printpicart
Posted by: JEAN at Aug 9, 2007 9:40:57 PM
once a beggar reach my uncle´s house.He said i will pay you for working in the lawn.His answer: I asked money not work
Posted by: JEAN at Aug 9, 2007 9:44:52 PM
Taleb is hilarious!!!
The new stand-up economist? (oh sorry, I mean philosopher).
Posted by: stan at Aug 9, 2007 9:57:48 PM
As a Texan, I drive a lot. Very frequently I encounter homeless men and women panhandling at busy intersections in Austin. I often give them money, but only if I think their sign is worth buying. In essence, I turn panhandling into a transaction. As you might imagine, I now have in the back of my car evidence for the basis of some sad grad student's sociology dissertation. Someday I might damn well turn it into a contemporary art exhibit, thus taking the straw of the begging class and turning it into the gold of the creative class. Christ, one hundred and ten posts, and not a single effort to exploit these cheap laborers!
Posted by: jimbo at Aug 9, 2007 10:15:03 PM
Perhaps money for a drink will speed the alcoholic beggar along to the point where he will choose to get sober? Or perhaps he'll just drink himself to death, and your money may have allowed him to numb the pain he feels from living?
Posted by: Dave at Aug 9, 2007 10:30:32 PM
Perhaps money for a drink will speed the alcoholic beggar along to the point where he will choose to get sober? Or perhaps he'll just drink himself to death, and your money may have allowed him to numb the pain he feels from living?
Posted by: Dave at Aug 9, 2007 10:31:12 PM
Perhaps money for a drink will speed the alcoholic beggar along to the point where he will choose to get sober? Or perhaps he'll just drink himself to death, and your money may have allowed him to numb the pain he feels from living?
Posted by: Dave at Aug 9, 2007 10:31:34 PM
I feel that I should devote as much my money to myself at this point in my life given the amount of money I'm borrowing to pay for school. Perhaps I can afford to be more generous in the future. I agree that giving to beggars encourages begging, though in the US, many of them only have government social security grants to go to, which is also begging in a sense. Some beggars are also sleazy. In my town (Urbana, IL), there are not very many beggars, but one that I talked to while we were both drunk claimed to make about $80/day off of begging, which is much more than I make from honest work. That reduces my desire to give to beggars, at least in this town. Beggars in confusing downtown Atlanta were actually quite helpful, almost professional guides when I visited there. However, the same beggars continued to offer to guide me to the same conference from my hotel every day I was there...
Martin: I once had a beggar ask me for money "for some lunch" outside of a restaurant. I told him that I didn't have anything to give him, went inside, and spent my last $6 I had on me on lunch. When I came out of the restaurant, he started loudly calling me a liar, and using a lot of profanity.
Posted by: Lucas at Aug 9, 2007 10:46:50 PM
Isn't Everclear the best thing to give beggars?
Powerful. Cheap.
Might cause their death and relieve society from further begging.
Posted by: Dave Barnes at Aug 9, 2007 10:48:29 PM
You gotta love the Cuban's and Ehrenreich's responses. Apparently, Mark Cuban doesn't have an inner economist and Ehrenreich believes beggars really can be choosers.
Posted by: cspaley at Aug 9, 2007 11:31:49 PM
John Mark Rozendaal, I need a new car. So you can send me a tricked out SUV and we'll be even.
Tyler, you were far too thoughtful for the forum -- perfect score for you. Taleb gets points for being hilarious and bonus points for stirring up so much ire in the comments there and here. Look people, if Taleb offends you, then you're the ones he's screwing with. He's a performance artist. Good for Mark Cuban. At least he was honest ;-). Ehrenreich gets 5 points for pointing out the obvious absurdity of the hypothetical and loses 10 because John Mark Rozendaal isn't buying me an SUV.
Posted by: Brad Hutchings at Aug 9, 2007 11:53:30 PM
'I do like Jesus' approach to the problem. "If a man asks for your shirt give him your cloak also."'
Yeah, and you saw what happened to him, he got crucified by the authorities.
In sub-saharan Africa, there is an old saying "It takes a village to raise a child." Of course, these are the same countries with high poverty rates, high unemployment, rampant AIDs infection, high levels of corruption, and low GDP growth, so maybe it isn't such a hot idea after all.
Posted by: contrary person at Aug 10, 2007 12:01:45 AM
mkl's comment on Taleb's "The Black Swan" is right on the mark. That book desperately needed an editor. Sadly, the guy managed to squander a great subject.
Posted by: Diogo at Aug 10, 2007 12:29:53 AM
Tyler --
Remember those Motel 6 commercials by a guy named Tom Bodett?
Try his book Small Comforts. An interesting look at your topic -- with the wit of Twain.
Posted by: SheetWise at Aug 10, 2007 1:11:35 AM
I have personal, familial experience with beggars and I also live in the downtown of a major city. First of all, nearly all beggars went to the streets because of mental illness and drugs. I have yet to see any homeless person who hit the street for any other reason.
But even in those mental states, they respond to incentives. Many times, family and friends will keep offering them help but they will refuse to alter their lifestyle. Begging enables them to stay the same while getting enough for sustenance and for their habit.
As for the Jesus argument, I think his statements are taken out of context of the times he lived in. The good Samaritan, for example, helped somebody who was genuinely out of luck after suffering an injury and having their wallet open. Other beggers in Jesus' time included lepers, widows, blind people and others, people out of luck with no sort of social safety net.
In contrast, beggers today have ample resources for help and only beg to not change. Churches and shelters do offer serious help today and, in my opinion, giving to those organization would advance what Jesus wanted.
Finally, there's also beggars who do it purely for the money. I have a friend who walked past the beggar on the way to the grocery store and later saw that same guy checking out with a debit card, wearing a leather jacket. It's something to consider, at least.
Posted by: Matthew at Aug 10, 2007 1:22:28 AM
I'm begging right now for someone to take Taleb's soapbox away.
Posted by: glenn at Aug 10, 2007 5:20:40 AM
So many things george bush does wrong, and we have to invent new ones. Geez. Please go look up your facts. Mr. Bush is exceedingly generous, with his own money. Issues surround using other people's money without their consent. Charity is an act of free will, once it is compelled its either slavery or thievery. Both of which are definitely not charity.
If giving to a beggar isn't something you like to do, its your money.
At least get the guy a value meal from mcdonalds if you aren't keen on promoting boozing.
Posted by: Jacob at Aug 10, 2007 8:49:36 AM
I never give money to skells. No exceptions.
Posted by: Peter at Aug 10, 2007 9:56:48 AM
I am surprised that no one mentioned anything akin to the bible admonition to not cut to the very edge of your field or to glean twice leaving a little for the poor.
Posted by: Floccina at Aug 10, 2007 10:32:25 AM
One issue that has not been touched on that much seems relevant. I never give to beggars who are eligible for non-trivial transfers from the government. This means all beggars in Western Europe and Canada and disabled beggers in the US. Such beggars are playing off of the general ignorance of the middle class about details of the transfer system that they pay for with their tax dollars. Oh, and I never give to goth kids looking to supplement their allowances (a non-trivial fraction of the begging population near universities in my experience.)
On the other hand, I almost always give to street musicians unless they are truly, truly awful, and I will occasionally give to beggars who offer up some clever dialogue. If I am going to encourage begging, I want to encourage begging that also provides positive externalities in some other way.
Jeff
Posted by: Jeff Smith at Aug 10, 2007 10:50:15 AM
Many of them make very good money, its true. The young kids (especially girls) around Tomkin's Square in NY would make $40-100/day back in the early nineties. Then there are those older men with scams and stories about getting bus tickets back to Jersey, they probably made even more. Your drunkard without a plan still makes $20-30 and he can eat for free at his regular spots (churches, shelters, from restaurants when they close) so that money can go straight to booze.
Its true that a lot of homeless won't accept food or help. I tried to offer a fresh apple and banana just bought, to a homeless person once and got a look of disgust: "I asked for money not food". Another time the beggar took it but asked for money too, and later I saw them throw out the fruit. I have also offered to buy homeless people lunch and had them refuse it.
I have many more stories along those lines. The worst one though was a freezing cold night in NYC, literally about 10 degrees F before wind chill, and I saw a homeless guy wrapped in a thin blanket lying in a corner on the street. I was sure that he would die that night. My friend and I begged him to let us walk him to the nearby shelter. We would have done nearly anything-- run around town to find a shelter with space or a church, whatever he would prefer; take a taxi with him to his preferred location, etc. We didn't want his blood on our hands, we felt it was our duty to help him out. But he refused. And he refused, no matter what we said. Finally we left him with a hot coffee. I am convinced that he died that night.
But in the end its their choice. Whether you give them money and they spend it drinking themselves to death, or if they refuse your help. And for many, giving them money will encourage them-- if they do as well as some do, why would they stop? I do think that the churches, charities and private shelters help the most-- by helping those who want to help themselves. And certainly the mentally ill often need the most help. As for the rest-- are you in the mood to enable their behavior? Its up to you.
[Barbara Ehrenreich seems like the type to know all about the psychologists use of the term "enabling," they were using it in liberal elite circles way back in the 1980s ... someone should ask her whether its right to enable their behavior...]
Posted by: liberty at Aug 10, 2007 11:08:51 AM
Interesting piece.
On a side note, while I love Taleb's books, did an economist used to hit him as a child or something? The melodrama of his answer made me laugh. I don't think he seems to understand the idea of a "model".
Posted by: Chris at Aug 10, 2007 11:42:47 AM
Clearly very few people on this list actually live in an area with a large population of homeless people. I live and work, in Austin, Texas which does have a very large population of homeless, and I absolutely refuse to give to them directly. I've observed that the people who do give directly (I ask) are most often "transient" (e.g. students or commuters) who don't have to deal with the issue on an ongoing basis (e.g. petty theft, aggressive panhandling, camping in public spaces, public drug and alcohol use, antisocial behaviors, public urination/defecation, fighting, etc.). Nothing pisses me off more than to see the "Mobile Loaves and Fishes" truck drive in from Westlake (a very expensive, high-income, suburb) to feed the homeless three blocks from my office and 3/4 mile from my house (and kids); I've NEVER seen a beggar on a street corner in Westlake, their law enforcement works aggressively to keep them out .. the same holds true for Georgetown and Roundrock. I have the privledge of living with them and paying taxes to support them.
Lest you write me off as a jerk, I contribute heavily (time and money) to organizations that work to keep people off the street and provide rehabilitation services (Salvation Army, SafePlace, etc...). I also have a family member who is homeless due to mental illness so I can relate on a bit more personal basis than most.
Posted by: mike at Aug 10, 2007 11:58:35 AM
I want to second several of the comments, especially Matthew's comments just above. I think sometimes people think a beggar is a beggar is a beggar, but each one is different - they're human beings. For example, some are living on the street, some in shelters, and some in apartments. Some have incomes - pensions, social security, etc. Some are hearing voices and for some, begging is essentially their chosen form of work.
There are probably some beggars for whom giving them cash is a good act or at least does no harm, but I think there are some where this is not the case. My own view is that giving an American street person who displays even a hint of aggression (or professionalism) some cash is about as far from giving your cloak to a man asking for a coat as a charitable act can get.
Unlike mike, just above, I don't fault the suburban churches and missions for feeding and housing the street people (what else can you do?), but I think he's right about considering the people who have pay the external costs. Many of whom are other street persons - in street person society the weak are at the mercy of the strong. If Ehrenreich is serious, and not just using this issue to grind her self-superior political axes, I think her statement "if a beggar importunes me directly, I must fork over some money....[as to the beggar's situation in life] what do I care?" is callous and sad.
Posted by: anon/portly at Aug 10, 2007 1:07:05 PM
For a blog focused on economics, I'm surprised nobody brought up the very high possibility (in fact almost certainty) that it does not matter if you give the beggar a hot dog, or the cast directly, unless you are the only one that gives him money.
If you assume the worst case scenario, that the bum will spend all possible money on booze, he will still spend some amount on food in order to survive. If you give him food directly, that makes available all of the money that other's gave him for booze.
This applies directly to aid programs as well. "Here is $10,000,000. Don't spend it on weapons". Great! we will buy 10M worth of food, and then spend the $10M of unrestricted funds we got from somebody else (or whatever our crappy GDP is) on guns!
Posted by: Jason Coyne at Aug 10, 2007 2:16:08 PM
I don't donate money to any cause. Just clothes to thrift stores in poor areas and my old car to the Salvation Army. I spent some time volunteering for a storefront mission and now have nothing but contempt for homeless people.
Posted by: Christina at Aug 10, 2007 3:06:43 PM
Here's a website you may find useful. http://www.addicted.com is a site for friends, families, and those who suffer from various addictions.
Posted by: Alcoholism at Aug 10, 2007 4:43:43 PM
I have donated a ton of food to the local homeless shelter, day old bread and packaged cut vegetables. (This is not a figure of speech; they have a scale and receipts show the weight). I give nothing to street beggars. Anyone who holds up a sign saying "Hungry - Please help" who gets angry and hostile when offered food should be prosecuted for fraud.
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