Panhandling can be more lucrative than a full-time job?!?!

[True Dough]

In Lexington, Kentucky, there's a newly-launched program to help street people find full-time employment at $9 an hour.

A local radio deejay decided to go undercover to try his luck at panhandling because he wasn't convinced that $9/hr. would be enough to lure some homeless people off the streets.

He figures he made about $40/hr. Granted, that's not a regular, sustained wage and there are no job benefits that come with panhandling, other than setting your own hours, I suppose. But I have heard from people in a few major cities that they know of panhandlers who have routinely collected hundreds of dollars a day.

Makes you think.

http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/City-launches-program-to-help-provide-Lexington-panhandlers-with-jobs-420365913.html

http://www.lex18.com/story/35332528/local-radio-personality-goes-undercover-as-panhandler

[Warpy]

1. Yes and no. I'm sure on a "hot" corner at peak hours, it is a lot more lucrative

than 8 hours at what your average skinflint pays his workers. However, you've got to grab that corner early and be out there for a lot of slow time before "peak" occurs. It also helps if your sign is witty and you've got a smile and "thank you" always at the ready.

If it rains, you're just SOL for the day. Same thing if somebody else grabs the corner 5 minutes before you get there.

It's just another measure of how low our wages have fallen that trusting one's ability to find a good corner and hang in there waiting for traffic to pick up and hope the weather holds averages better pay than a minimum wage job does. That's what sucks. America needs a raise.

[True Dough]

2. All good points, Warpy

But America isn't likely to get a raise with these greedy fu*kers in office.

[HoneyBadger]

4. It was reported in the news that panhandlers outside of Grand Central make $200/hour cash

They compete to get good spots just like better known businesses would compete. So it is hard to say that it is not a real job.

[Skittles]

3. perhaps he can find the cadillac welfare gal while he is at it

[Voltaire2]

5. Sounds like bullshit to me

[delisen]

6. Is busking more lucrative?

[treestar]

7. So people are that generous

It's odd when you consider that some of the same ones don't want the wage raised. Or to pay for any social programs.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. The Minimum Wage should be a livable wage.

$15/hr nationwide, to my math. At minimum.

[True Dough]

9. I believe Bernie was calling for $15

And Hillary was at $12 with a gradual rise in mind, I think.

But Herr Drumpf will just keep importing overseas labor to work at Mar-a-Lago and I wonder whether he even pays them minimum wage?