Do you give beggars coin?

[EPW]

I have mixed feelings. I would say I usually don't give them anything unless they ask you to buy them food(say if there outside a fastfood joint), which has only happened to me once. Sometimes they'll get you outside the grocery store when you have change in hand, it's hard to refuse then as well.

Pro:
1.Genuine Sympathy
2. Liberal Guilt/White Guilt

Con:
1. They'll probably buy drugs with it
2. There are homeless shelters, charity, etc. where they can get food and shelter
3. I may be encouraging them to continue their current lifestyle.

[Cort Haus]

No. I sometimes get my coachman to horsewhip them for their impertinance though.

[Elok]

No. I sometimes get my coachman to horsewhip them for their impertinance though.

You should use Firefox, it would have pointed out the misspelling of "impertinent."

*Elok runs from the coachman*

Re:OP, I generally don't give because the ratio of shysters to the generally needy is just too high. However, if they were genuinely homeless, I wouldn't worry about my contributions encouraging them to continue their whatever. "Hey, I wake up on a park bench covered in pigeon crap every morning, when I'm not getting hassled by the police or teenagers with rocks...I haven't showered in weeks, got laid in months and have about a 50/50 chance of surviving the winter...but I can get a couple of bucks just by asking. Awesome!"

[Combat Ingrid]

One morning I met a miserable-looking fella outside the liquor store. He asked me for money because he "really needed a beer". I of course gave him the money, it would be heartless and barbaric to leave him there all beerless and alone

[EPW]

I'll also add that most homeless in the US are on SSI/SSDI, so begging isn't their only source of income.

[Frozzy]

No.

I abhor cash gifts, whether its for christmas or for a beggar on the street. I'd be more likely to give some food before I gave cash.

[Cort Haus]

You should use Firefox, it would have pointed out the misspelling of "impertinent."

*Elok runs from the coachman*

I do use Firebox* - I just hadn't woken up properly.

*Suggested spelling

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

No. I donate to Shelter (a charity for the homeless) direct from my salary.

[ZEE]

No.

Give them an inch and they will want a yard.

[Barnabas]

Only to small kids and old people

[Wezil]

Yes. It's fun watching them crawl through traffic to pick the coins up.

[Flubber]

Nope-- I have better uses for my coin than assisting them to their next high

One guy tempted me though. He had a sign that said "Need money for weed". I felt an urge to reward his honesty.

[Felch]

Whenever possible. If I were homeless and trying to get high, I'd want people to help me out. Do unto others...

[Wezil]

I'd look to me friends for that Felch. Not strangers.

[DanS]

I don't carry change, but I have given cash very rarely. There was this one guy who was a sorry case, but he managed to memorize all of the world capitals. I picked some obscure African country and he gave me the name of the capital straight off. I thought that deserved some compensation, no matter what he did with the money, short of buying a hit of crack -- we all need a drink every now and then, after all.

As a christian, I try to follow "don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." But it's tough to follow the spirit of that command nowadays in the first world. Homeless people in the city begging is long-term demoralizing to this country boy. I give to So Others Might Eat (a local homeless organization), the poor box at my church, and Catholic Charities (which has a homeless ministry), but the left hand is firmly in control on those.