I was walking down in front of the white house and this guy in descent looking clothes asked me for a dollar i replied Nope....

he replied well at least do you got the time..

I replied with .. Yea It's time to get a job

So when a bum or a homeless person asks you for money do you give in ?

heck no! I work too hard for mine & have enough takers.

i do.
i never use my dollars or change.
might as well give it to a stranger.

I am an easy mark.

I used to.
But now I'm so sick of being hit up and conned constantly that I ignore them.

I ask em what they need it for and if they tell me food I offer to take them to the nearest store or burger factory. They usually decline then I insist and they get mad.

I do not, I have seen to many people buy them food.And just leave it in the parking lot of the store.!

I used to give them money etc. But one day, I kept seeing this pretty sad looking guy standing on the corner with a sign that said, need food. So I went home and gathered up some canned goods, even a can opener. Took them to him. He just looked at them, pushed them back at me. Said, don't you have any money? I could really use a drink. Have never given anything to a homeless person again.

I like your policy!

i don't see why not... it is none of my business what they do with it, and they do need it... what is a dollar nowadays?

The answer is YES
Good karma comes right back to you.

I've lived in over a dozen cities in california. If I'm not volunteering for some (usually non-christian) "food for the homeless" provider, then my friends are, so I often know the days/times for the food servings. Every city I've lived in has had groups that provided abundant food for homeless people. I feel comfortable saying that most urban panhandlers in california who claim to be hungry and not have access to free food are lying.

For me, the question is not 'losing the money' - its facilitating irresponsibility. Sure, it 'feels good' to tell myself I'm 'helping' someone else, but unless I'm willing to investigate that individual person - I'm not really helping them, I'm probably hurting them.

Next time you tell yourself that giving a panhandler a dollar is 'a good thing' - as yourself whether you'd go buy them a beer, a joint, or a rock.

I know a lot of people who *do* buy beer for alcoholic homeless people, and who gift their weed, etc. At least they aren't pretending their beneficiary is getting fed off their generosity.

yea, so... everybody lies about something.... they are needy, we cannot deny that...but everyone is different.

hell, i'll smoke a joint with anyone... if thats what they wanted... but like i said, its not a big deal to me, and maybe that is the dollar that gets them back on the right road...

The point is not to say they are less than others because they are lying, the point is to not give them money under the illusion that you are helping to feed them.

I'll give if I have and I'm pretty sure I don't know enough about their situation to label them a 'bum'.

I agree that a dollar is not a big deal, and I think the world would be a better place if more of the decent earners were not so greedy with their income. It'd also be a better place if the people who sponge off of others were also less greedy.

i do not look at it like that.... when i decide what others should spend money on, then i am exceeding my boundaries... people have a choice to say yes or no to give them anything, and they have a choice to spend it on what they want... when you give a X-mas gift, do you tell the person how to use it? my point is, a gift is a gift, i have no right to tell them how to spend the dollar.