Yes, you never can tell what is going on nowadays. You always have to be careful, even if it is a woman with children.
Today I saw another beggar, and in the same place where I have been seeing them for quite some time. There is a road that leads to stores like a Home Depot, a theater, a Barnes & Noble, an Office Max, and other stores. It is almost like it is a franchise operation or something. Virtually everyday there is one or more people there begging. It was a guy today and the last time it was a woman, and two guys before that. Do they use their iPhones to tell each other about good locations? Do you have to buy into the franchise? Are they operating in teams?
Along this road there is a restaurant I go to and I can remember at least three beggars trying to hit me up for money outside of that restaurant. Two of them were a man and woman and the guy had a backpack and the other was the woman saying she did not have enough money for a tow truck. She probably had a credit card and a debit card judging from how she was dressed. I am old but I know just about everybody is carrying plastic. Most of the people at the grocery stores are using debit cards. I guess just because my hair is white they think I am out of touch. I have never driven a tow truck but my guess is the tow truck driver would accept a credit card.
These people have already saturated the beggar market. Anybody thinking about trying to make a living begging might as well get a job instead. Because there are no openings left for beggars. It is like a Liberal Arts degree from a college. Liberal Arts degrees are a dime a dozen in the job market. You want a job? Become an auto mechanic, or a plumber, or a carpenter, or an engineer. Maybe they teach panhandling classes in some colleges nowadays. I am at the point where I might believe anything.
Begging may have been a good living some time ago but it is a loser field for anybody to get into today. The market is saturated. But there are millions of employment opportunities in the United States for people who have various job skills. And if somebody has no technical training they can always try the local fast food places. I have been tempted a few times to tell some of these people have you tried to get a job at a fast food restaurant? There are three down the road. I am tempted to say that especially when somebody is dressed really nice and begging for money. But instead I just say I don't have any money on me.
