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I think bums make more money than me =(

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Originally posted by: darkxshade
I think this is the case at least in NYC... let me lay it down for you.

When I commute to work, every day I see at least 2 folks who claim to be homeless stroll thru the subway, they give a 1 min speech and proceed to stroll on thru and continue onto the next car. I always make an effort to monitor how much change are dumped into their "coffee" cup. Tourists are the most gullible as often I see these folks stuff a dollar bill into that cup sometimes more.

So I did some math, the avg subway has about 10 cars, it takes all but 15-20 mins to get from front to end. And during rush hour another subway is just 5 mins behind, that means these folks go thru at least 2 subways/hour. On avg I see about 1-2 dollars being dumped into the cup and in rare instances a fiver and I've even seen a 10 once. So it's safe to say that these ppl pull in on avg 20 bucks/subway or about 40-50/hour. If you pay careful attention to these people, they take the money out of their cups and put it into their pockets. why? so it looks empy thus giving people reason to be sympathetic in the next car. This is definately over 40k/year.

I can just picture a guy who wakes up in the morning, gets dressed in business attire kisses his wife and kids goodbye, gets into his ferrari drives to his office, puts on his uniform(bum outfit & stench cologne) heads on to the busiest line and starts his day. His job description: Motivational speaker?

edit: I should also mention that during rush hours, you can barely squeeze thru the cars and I'd estimate an avg of 50ish people in each car during off peak on these lines. Also brought to my attention, they can cheat the IRS income reporting hence higher net income & ability to milk the goverments welfare system and other benefits.

Am I being paranoid?


Cliffs:
1. NYC bum strolls thru subways from car to car and gives a heartfelt bum speech
2. Makes avg 2 bucks/car or 20 bucks/subway or about 40-50/hour
3. Worse case scenario = over 50k/year(underestimated)
4. Profits
5. Must read entire post to get a bigger grasp of the idea
Click to expand...


There was a 20/20 News story on this a few years back.. there were some professional panhandlers doing exactly what you are saying..
they said alot of the NY bums were not really bums but con artists that made just as much as the average lower tier office workers 40-50k a year easy..

so no youre not paranoid thats exactly why i dont give crap to them.
 
Originally posted by: Connoisseur
And yeah I find those guys annoying. I just want a quiet subway ride d****t. But far more annoying than them I hate the Jesus freaks. God I want to rip out their throats. They WON'T SHUT UP.
Click to expand...
That's why god invented sound isolating earbuds! 🙂

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
You don't even need to look like a bum
pics of a bum I took at San Francisco

Silver ring - $20
Brand new pair of FUBU jeans - $50
Brand new pair of Air Jordans - $150
Dreadlocks at a hair stylist - $150
Hand drum set to play the same three beats repeatedly- $200

Having idiots pay for all your crap because they think you're a poor, helpless, bum in need of food.. PRICELESS
Click to expand...
That's not a bum, that's a street performer.
 
i saw one local pan handler here in boston counting a fat wad of 20s this summer, he had at least 800$ that i saw go by
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
i saw one local pan handler here in boston counting a fat wad of 20s this summer, he had at least 800$ that i saw go by
Click to expand...

It's an occupation, so stop calling them bums. If they can pull that off on a daily basis, I call it talent. 🙂
Of course, I can understand how that kind of income would rub a University grad the wrong way. Face it, some of us just dropped out of high school and make treble, what some of the educated idiots make. 😀
 
actually I can't... they're unionized, I forgot to mention that you don't see your traditional bum in the subways anymore. More like an army of would be "volunteers" working for something called the UHO(United Health Organization). They dress in clean clothes and carry around a long pringles can with their company logo on it and wears a UHO ID around their necks. They offer food to anyone who wants it(a failed attempt at sincerety if you ask me) because I've not once seen anyone take any food, I wouldn't trust what they put in it anyway.

Other times you get your avg HS minority teen selling candy for a buck(normal price of $.50) trying to pay his way into college, stay out of trouble, funding a basketball team, etc.

The only true bums are those lazy ones who just sleep on the platform under the stairs with a cup lying there and a sign asking for help.
 
This is what I do for a living

People dont really give me money because im not skinny by any means

I average $5-10/hour

Sometimes people steal money from my cup when they are reaching in there... you need to watch out for that.

Great job for college students
 
How many of you have ever gone from zero, to being a millionaire, back to zero again? I've done it twice. I'm going back up again. What I hate is that 2-3 year period when all you can do is be depressed, as your creditors start taking all your dignity away, you can't find anything to eat, or any money, for that matter. Suddenly, another brainfart, and you're on your way again. 😉

The most despicable person to me, is some greaser who spent 40-50 grand of his parents money, went to college, changed majors 3-4 times, finally got booted, then works at McDonalds. Ever talk to one of those creeps? Oh, they're intelligent alright, kind of like talking to an encyclopedia, but they sure are helpless, when trying to tie own shoes. They know everything there is to know about sex.......but can't find a date. :shocked: Do not ask these people what time it is. They will build you a watch! And, never ask them a question about themselves, unless you have a few hours to spare. You will, for sure, hear about all their accomplishments😉
 
Gotta love the bums sitting outside restaurants begging for money so they can eat. Back in college it happened to me outside of a Taco Bell and I only have a $5 on me, so I offered to split my meal with them. All of a sudden they were talking about how Taco Bell gives them indigestion and they were going to walk over to the Wendy's for food. After that I blew them off because:

A) If you're really that hungry, your ass can deal with some indigestion and a case of the runs
B) If you don't eat Taco Bell, don't beg for money for food outside of one


Another fun set is the hawkers outside the mall who appear to be walking from the bus stop asking for change to catch their bus. However after you turn them down while you are getting in your car you see them turn around back to the bus stop and head back to the doors again (whether someone gave them that 75 cents or not).


I actually enjoy helping people in true need, but you need to have a discernable eye otherwise you're just encouraging the scammers.

As one great philospher said "If a homeless person has a funny sign, he hasnt been homeless that long. A real homeless person is to hungry to be funny." Ok, maybe that was just Chris Rock, still good stuff.
 
Originally posted by: BlueFlamme
Gotta love the bums sitting outside restaurants begging for money so they can eat. Back in college it happened to me outside of a Taco Bell and I only have a $5 on me, so I offered to split my meal with them. All of a sudden they were talking about how Taco Bell gives them indigestion and they were going to walk over to the Wendy's for food. After that I blew them off because:

A) If you're really that hungry, your ass can deal with some indigestion and a case of the runs
B) If you don't eat Taco Bell, don't beg for money for food outside of one


Another fun set is the hawkers outside the mall who appear to be walking from the bus stop asking for change to catch their bus. However after you turn them down while you are getting in your car you see them turn around back to the bus stop and head back to the doors again (whether someone gave them that 75 cents or not).


I actually enjoy helping people in true need, but you need to have a discernable eye otherwise you're just encouraging the scammers.

As one great philospher said "If a homeless person has a funny sign, he hasnt been homeless that long. A real homeless person is to hungry to be funny." Ok, maybe that was just Chris Rock, still good stuff.
Click to expand...

In otherwords, you are trying to say, that your bullshit sifter needs to be running anytime you're out in public. 🙂

 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Originally posted by: Anubis
i saw one local pan handler here in boston counting a fat wad of 20s this summer, he had at least 800$ that i saw go by
Click to expand...

It's an occupation, so stop calling them bums. If they can pull that off on a daily basis, I call it talent. 🙂
Of course, I can understand how that kind of income would rub a University grad the wrong way. Face it, some of us just dropped out of high school and make treble, what some of the educated idiots make. 😀
Click to expand...

i didnt say bun i said pan handler
 
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Thing that irritates me is that the government doesn't tax these guys....
Click to expand...

The Gov taxes what you make, based on what you report. Do you think onstar is gonna watch each guy in realtime, to see what he puts in his wallet? 🙂

 
Originally posted by: daveymark
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
You don't even need to look like a bum
pics of a bum I took at San Francisco

Silver ring - $20
Brand new pair of FUBU jeans - $50
Brand new pair of Air Jordans - $150
Dreadlocks at a hair stylist - $150
Hand drum set to play the same three beats repeatedly- $200

Having idiots pay for all your crap because they think you're a poor, helpless, bum in need of food.. PRICELESS
Click to expand...

that kid is probably still living at his mom's

he probably just does it for fun/musical enjoyment as well as the money

I wouldn't call him a bum
Click to expand...

The thing is.. he doesn't do any music. He just plays the same three beat rhythm over and over.
 
When I worked in Downtown Detroit there was a lady we only knew as the "Quarter Lady".

She was a nice old lady who would only ever ask you for a quarter... "Got a Qwaarrrter" (She always drew out the word quarter).

We never saw her in the winter though.

Come to find out...she made enough from the late spring to early fall to be able to fly to Florida, spend the cold months there, and then fly back "home".

But...I gotta go to work everyday...lol... go figure. 🙂

- TK
 
Well I subtlely tailed one of them today to the end of the train which were 6 cars(I was in the middle of the subway when he came in so I missed the first few cars). Of the 6 cars, I saw 10 people put a washington in the can as well as a lot of coins, some people just dump all the change in their pockets which could total more than a dollar. Basically if they stick to a strict schedule, they indeed could be making over 50k/year. Whether they report this income to the IRS or receive welfare or other benefits is another story altogether.
 
Originally posted by: darkxshade
Originally posted by: everman
Don't forget that they aren't reporting this income to the IRS, so the amount is effectively much more.
Click to expand...

Good point, thanks now I feel more bummed... no pun intended
Plus they get to milk the goverment for welfare and other goodies
Click to expand...

Homeless people get welfare?
 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Originally posted by: darkxshade
Originally posted by: everman
Don't forget that they aren't reporting this income to the IRS, so the amount is effectively much more.
Click to expand...

Good point, thanks now I feel more bummed... no pun intended
Plus they get to milk the goverment for welfare and other goodies
Click to expand...

Homeless people get welfare?
Click to expand...

well they're not really homeless are they, they're pretending to be, that's what the thread is all about.
 
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