Posted by Tina
San Francisco has a daunting homeless problem, as do most large cities. Their latest effort to deal with the problem of panhandling is pretty clever. It will allow people to assuage guilt and stroke compassion by giving to the bums on the street but the money will go to charities that help the homeless rather than the homeless person who would likely just buy drugs or booze with it. I doubt if it will do much to change the situation, however:
Rather than tossing loose change into a panhandler’s empty cup, San Francisco officials want you instead to slide your spare quarters and nickels into a homeless meter. The city’s latest attempt to deal with one of its most vexing problems will be announced in coming weeks in the form of 10 old parking meters installed in some of the most heavily panhandled areas… S.F. Chronicle