<p>i just tell them i dont have anything to give them...works well since im 16 and barely have anything to give them anyways.</p>
<p>I also live in NYC and take the subway everyday, and if I gave money to all the homeless people that asked, i'd be poor(well I am poor, but i'd be even moreso). Sometimes i'll feel really bad, or charitable, but I just can't do it all the time.</p>
<p>...so, just how much have you given to a street person or total stranger ???</p>
<ul>
<li>25 cents?</li>
<li>whatever coins are in your pocket?</li>
<li>a dollar?</li>
<li>more?</li>
</ul>
<p>...does it make a difference what the person looks like?</p>
<p>...do females give more than males?</p>
<p>...are females more likely to receive more $$$ than males?</p>
<p>what's the difference, a beggar's a beggar...</p>
<p>it's like tipping a bartender or food/cocktail server...does a waitress or female bartender get bigger tips?</p>
<p>...true, beggers don't provide any service like a server or bartender does. </p>
<p>...and I do think there is difference between a bum or hustler and someone who is just a little down on his or her luck.</p>
<p>** holding up my cardboard sign on the street corner **</p>
<p>!!! CC vet & homeless ... give me some serious cash !!!</p>
<p>I don't know about the rest of you, but I never tip. No waiters, delivery peron(s)..nothing. But I don't complain if the waiter spits in my food or anything.</p>
<p>€50 (like $65-70) is probably the most I have ever given any random person on the streets but that only happened once or twice. Usually I just give them coins or some smaller bills, not more than $10.</p>
<p>hm...I once gave a guy 0.071 dollars.</p>
<p>In Boston a a number of years back, do-gooders tried to claim that "homeless" were actually begging for money for food - so they came up with this plan for people to buy "coupons" at Christie's (a 7-11 convenient mart) - so the homeless could buy food and things at the store'</p>
<p>Citizens could then give coupons instead of money</p>
<p>The program collapsed almost immediately at the homeless started cursing the people handing them these coupons, sometimes threatening violence</p>
<p>Seems they really were not hungry - they wanted BOOZE - what a surprise</p>
<p>if you do want to give them something, pull a few cents of change out of your pants pocket. DO NOT take out your wallet. what happens then is (especially if the person is trying to con you) and they see all of the money in your wallet and you give away a dollar, chances are you don't have that wallet anymore.</p>
<p>I was with a band in baltimore and we were all outside with their instruments and some people came by and asked for money... we gave them each a free CD and they looked at us like we were nuts. We told them they could re-sell it for $5 and they walked away confused.</p>
<p>^ my wallet was stolen in a big crowd before..I remember seeing alot of beggers aroung. (But I had less than 10 dollars in there anyway)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't know about the rest of you, but I never tip. No waiters, delivery peron(s)..nothing. But I don't complain if the waiter spits in my food or anything.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>in the US, not tipping when you eat at a place with table service is essentially unacceptable. If you cannot afford to tip, you shouldn't be eating out. However, in other countries, they do not tip at meals and things. This is why it's important to know the customs of a country before you visit.</p>
<p>And you wouldn't know if the waiter spits in your food. But you would have every right to complain.</p>
<p>Maybe I'm just not as jaded as you all, but I live in Manhattan, and I give to those who ask fairly often. I also seem to be the only one who's offered food and the recipient was happy to accept. I gave a woman a McDonald's gift card once because there wasn't really one nearby--I think it had like $15 or so left on it. I think that was my biggest donation. A woman came up to me on the subway and I gave her a muffin from my bookbag, and she was thankful. Sure there are some or even a lot who'll spend money you give them on alcohol or drugs, but it's far from all of them. I don't see anything wrong with giving money if you have it; however, I wouldn't give more than a dollar in cash (usually because I don't have it on me).</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Be careful that you are never put in a corner with any of that when you are getting something out of your bookbag or purse (or messenger bag if you are a gentleman). You can get mugged that way. At least you can get mugged that way in the city I live in. That is why I am all no hablo y no comprendo with the beggars. </p>
<p>stuck-on-1700: I have respect for your country. But, what do you mean, you do not complain if someone spits in your food?! What the heck, man!? If you see it, you complain. Oh my goodness.</p>
<p>One afternoon while going through Penn Station in NYC, a nicely-dressed and respectable-looking man stopped me and explained that he needed to "get back to Boston" but had no way as he did not have sufficient fare to buy the ticket. He needed $3, which I gave him. I would subsequently see the same fellow performing the same act every day to different unsuspecting people.</p>
<p>Yeah that's a conman right there ;)</p>
<p>People try to sell me a swipe through the turnstiles for a dollar(the usual cost is $2), because they can cause a glitch by bending the card they have. Fortunately I remind them that i'm a student and have a free card anyway.</p>
<p>OK, to the guy who doesn't tip, I hope you get ecoli for being an ass. In some places there is special legislation that allows resteraunts to pay their waiters/waitresses under minimum wage making them live on their tips. If you've ever gotten a job that wasn't given to you by your parents you probably would've known this. </p>
<p>As for the homeless thing, I suggest volunteering at a shelter if you really want to help the homeless. There are some youth shelters in my city that require that you have a job and clean before they admit you. I know a girl who lives in one, she was kicked out of her house for something stupid (just bad parents who don't know how to raise a kid) and she has a job and is a part time student. Can't afford the rents in the city and her friends are all living at home or abroad so this is the only place she can turn to.</p>
<p>Believe me, not everyone that is homeless is cheating the welfare system, beating up single mothers and boozing it up on Wednesday afternoons.</p>
<p>Oh my I made like a triple posting.</p>
<p>
[quote]
OK, to the guy who doesn't tip, I hope you get ecoli for being an ass. In some places there is special legislation that allows resteraunts to pay their waiters/waitresses under minimum wage making them live on their tips. If you've ever gotten a job that wasn't given to you by your parents you probably would've known this.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That was a poster from Egypt. There are different societal norms for things like tipping over in Egypt. </p>
<p>Where I live there are bars and restaurants for miles. Everyone I know who waits tables makes well over $70.00 a night plus a really low hourly wage (I thin kit is $2.25 and hour). It is all in what you make of it. If I could pull in about $70.00 in four hours or so, I would not care about my additional hourly wage all too much. I think that is good pay right there. But, I live where these things are common. Egypt is a whole other can of worms:)</p>
<p>I am sure that some homeless folks are just plainly down on their luck. I am a Quaker and could write a book on folks who are just plainly down on their luck who the people of my church go out of their way to help all the time. </p>
<p>But, everyone responding to this thread is posting through the light of their own city. That is different ICrisis.</p>
<p>Like, I live deep in the burbs. But, I do not work there and my library and all is not there. If you go into the city of Memphis, Tn, then you will see a lot of far out crime. And, then when you factor in the fact that Memphis has one of the highest murder rates in the nation as well as one of the highest rates of crimes against women in the nation...then you would be all no hablo y no comprendo to all the panhandlers. Where I live, you can actually get a panhandlers permit and go wherever some club or event is at and beg all the live long day! It is crazy.</p>
<p>I am sure that everyone on this thread is not mean. And, I am sure that everyone on this thread is not trying to be presumptive and judgemental. It is just that you have to watch your own back sometimes. And, the manner in which you watch your own back is dependent upon where you live. That is hard to convey in a little messageboard thread. </p>
<p>I hope no one else trolls on stuck-on-1700. I know stuck-on-1700 is totally from Egypt and lives there now and that things are really different there when it comes to tipping and whatnot.</p>
<p>Yeah, sorry about the triple posting.</p>