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Bum boasts he makes $200/hour panhandling

madoka

madoka

Diamond Member
http://nypost.com/2015/11/11/this-bum-boasts-he-makes-200-an-hour-panhandling/

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A panhandler outside Grand Central Terminal says he rakes in up to $200 an hour from kind-hearted New Yorkers.

And the 43-year-old former theater stagehand is only one of a legion of beggars in the city hauling in big bucks and a smorgasbord of food doing nothing but sitting on the sidewalk with hands out.

“On a Friday morning, I make $400 in two hours,’’ said Will Andersen, who was with his 9-year-old dog, Rizzo, on East 42nd Street between Vanderbilt and Madison avenues on Tuesday.

As Andersen was talking to The Post, another beggar told him gleefully, “I got three breakfast sandwiches today! And they were all meat! I’m putting on pounds out here!”

The beggars’ comments came a day after Police Commissioner Bill Bratton urged New Yorkers to simply not give if they want to get vagrants off the streets.

Panhandling is so lucrative, Andersen said he now rents a room in Inwood after being homeless for three years. He said he’s on the street only to collect handouts.

“I have gotten $80 or $100 from a single person. And they will say, ‘Just do something good tonight.’ They mean go to a hotel or a hostel,’’ he said.

“I get people who give me five bucks each day. Five bucks each day, that’s five days a week, two people — that’s $50 a week right there. I get dog food. I put away for rent. I pay $300 a month, that’s nothing.”

Andersen admitted that the pooch helps.

“People are more generous because I have a dog, 100 percent. They throw me a dollar and say, ‘That’s for the dog,’ ’’ Andersen said, sitting next to a duffel bag full of donated food for himself.

Another beggar, working the northeast corner of West 35th Street and Seventh Avenue near Penn Station, said that just like everything else in the city, it’s all about location for vagrants.

“There are other spots where people get hundred-dollar bills. I could go over to Fifth Avenue and make $150 before lunch,’’ said the man, 36, who gave only his first name, Daniel. “But I don’t want to deal with the hassle,’’ he said. “There’s people that bully you to get out of the good spots.’’

Some vagrants even admitted that Bratton is right on the money — New Yorkers shouldn’t be giving them dough.

“If you stop giving them money and help them with those other things, like blankets, clothing and food, they would definitely leave because they would know they couldn’t get the money to get high or drunk,’’ said Shaunyece Darling, 22, who panhandles with her boyfriend, dog and three cats.
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The bolded part is why I never give panhandlers any money.
 
I have no interest in supplying drug or drinking money to people who have nothing better to do than hit on whoever next comes around the corner.
 
In Fla on vacation stopped at a red light, I saw a guy give an apple. Later that night same corner the same beggar and a few of his friends were hidden off to the side handing over the please help sign to the next beggar. Friends were drinking and smiling. Yeah, never give money.

By the way, guy in the article having his picture taken and all this... he's not too smart is he?
 
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Its unfortunate but unsurprising. I used to work at an electronics retailer ages ago and would frequently see the beggars in the area come in and buy laptops, tvs etc. Sirius and tiny earbuds were a popular item as well so they could listen to music\shows while they panhandled
 
MarkXIX said:
If called out I bet he says he's a veteran with PTSD and it's his service dog. Wanna bet?
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I worked security on the Phoenix light rail for a while and have never before seen so many young pit mixes with rope leashes that just so happened to be "service dogs."
 
MarkXIX said:
If called out I bet he says he's a veteran with PTSD and it's his service dog. Wanna bet?
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Time to get a walking stick, put on a 90's army jacket, black tinted "blind man" glasses, and get the most adorable dog imaginable next time I go to NY. :hmm:
 
What a misguided fool.

The first thing I would do is I WOULDN'T TELL THE PRESS THAT I WAS SCAMMING PEOPLE! This story is going to quickly spread, so his days scamming people are numbered.
 
We pay people to make us laugh or to make us think. People pay others in times square for the privilege of standing next to them for picture because there topless.
He's offering a service and is being compensated.

"Look at me! I did a good thing today! I'm a good person because I help others"
People pay this guy to make them feel better about themselves.
 
$200 an hour is $8000 a week if he panhandles for 40 hours a week. That's $400,000/year.

I've always suspected that panhandling at "good locations" would be a pretty lucrative "job" for people - and suspect that many of the panhandlers aren't homeless at all - they've realized that simple begging earns them more an hour than at a lot of other unskilled jobs.
 
About 15 years ago one of the local stations in Minneapolis profiled some of these professional pan handlers. One guy went home to his suburban house driving an SUV. I think one of these guys admitted he was pulling in 70K\year in cash. Pretty good money for sitting on a sidewalk.
 
DrPizza said:
$200 an hour is $8000 a week if he panhandles for 40 hours a week. That's $400,000/year.

I've always suspected that panhandling at "good locations" would be a pretty lucrative "job" for people - and suspect that many of the panhandlers aren't homeless at all - they've realized that simple begging earns them more an hour than at a lot of other unskilled jobs.
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tax free*
 
DrPizza said:
$200 an hour is $8000 a week if he panhandles for 40 hours a week. That's $400,000/year.

I've always suspected that panhandling at "good locations" would be a pretty lucrative "job" for people - and suspect that many of the panhandlers aren't homeless at all - they've realized that simple begging earns them more an hour than at a lot of other unskilled jobs.
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Plus it's all tax free!
 
DrPizza said:
$200 an hour is $8000 a week if he panhandles for 40 hours a week. That's $400,000/year.

I've always suspected that panhandling at "good locations" would be a pretty lucrative "job" for people - and suspect that many of the panhandlers aren't homeless at all - they've realized that simple begging earns them more an hour than at a lot of other unskilled jobs.
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I suppose I'd want to know what you mean by "many." There are definitely homeless people out there, after all. (My brother was one, once upon a time.)

There are also definitely some people who choose to live that way because it's "easier" than an unskilled job, even if the money isn't as good. (My brother found out he had his limits and got a job/apartment/etc.)

In any case, the "make more money begging than at work" thing is as old as the welfare state, basically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Twisted_Lip

But it's also either very rare, very dubious (I mean, come on, the fucking NY Post? Really?) or it's based on bad information or extrapolation/conjecture. (A panhandler gets arrested with $400 cash on him, police report that panhandlers can make $400 in a day... because some homeless guy is obviously making nightly cash drops at the bank? Or somebody drops a $100 bill in the bucket once, so obviously all panhandlers are making $100/hour)
 
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