Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson, a couple of self-described "affluent beggars" from Ashland, Oregon estimate they can make an average of $30- $40,000 per year from panhandling. The two also stated that they can make a high of $300 per day and declared they once made an astonishing $800 in one day. These two self-proclaimed beggars are perfect examples of why panhandling should be banned in the city of Austin. It’s a safe bet state taxes aren’t being paid by these people who stand on a corner of a street and ask for money, making more than the hard working citizens that went to college, working 40 hour work weeks. Also panhandling is quite possibly linked to the higher collision rates at major intersections.
The Austin City Council was presented with the information on panhandling and the effects that it has on traffic conditions and how panhandlers tend to have extensive criminal histories. The city council is split when it comes to their feelings on this issue of banning panhandling in Austin. Council Members Mike Martinez, Lee Leffingwell and Sheryl Cole were amongst the few that disagreed with the proposal. Martinez said it would be wrong to assume that panhandlers caused the wrecks, especially because the list of intersections includes some of Austin's most congested intersections. Martinez is somewhat right when he said that you can not claim that everyone who ask for money has a criminal history.However, How many drivers pass through an intersection and read the signs or stare at the flamboyant costumes worn by panhandlers? Leslie Cochran is a perfect example of this. My opinion is that panhandling and illegal immigration are not only problems for Texas, but for the United States as well. Many people say that by stopping illegal immigration, you won’t have anyone do these jobs the immigrants do because its manual labor and it doesn’t pay well. I think the simple solution for both issues is to tie them into each other by stopping the illegal immigration and give the jobs to these panhandlers if they are really willing to work for money. That will also take care of the panhandlers such as Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson who don’t pay their state taxes like every other U.S. citizen. This proposal also deals with the issue of people standing on the corners of streets trying to raise money for an actual cause, such as the fire fighters with Fill the Boot. To say that fire fighters who contribute their time to raise money for a great cause such as MDA,relate to people who beg for money only to go to the nearest liquor store or drug dealer to satisfy their needs, is outlandish! The big concern from the citizens was that they had no clue who these people were that were coming up to there windows. I'm almost positive that there concerns were not with the people who were dressed in full uniform and representing the local fire department. My issue with this proposal is that it should not ban the people who seek to improve the lives of hundreds of others, but rather the people who seek to only better themselves.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/28/0928panhandle.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild55_prod=rwf8G9LCC3xJTHm7ZcXYMLh1LM0V1YjTFxBrWqGGsZhkjnJwKnvC!-550142581&UrAuth=%60NXNUOaN%5CUbTTUWUXUVUZTZU%60UWUbUcUZU%60U%5CUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y
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There's also several corrupt and undisciplined officers in the police dept. that one could point to and then conclude "all officers are BAD!" So, should we ban policing too?
Guess what? This ISN'T a law to ban panhandling. It is to ban solicitation practically throughout the City. Girl Scouts...hailing a cab...fireman with their fireboots (who if they allow to get a permit for an exemption, would then render the ordinance unconstitutional-which it already has been rendered and is in the appeals process-one of many reasons this is a foul idea).
It's tyrannical thought processes like yours that endanger civil liberties for all.
To whomever Debbie is, Maybe I should send you the link to the article. I'm pretty sure the people that are calling the cops, are not calling on the fire fighters, or the members of a church asking for donations to better the lives of people who are physically unable to help themselves. I'm not 100% sure, but I would bet its pretty safe to say that the people asking for donations such as the Fire Fighters and church members are not the type of people with extensive criminal history.
Below is just a small portion of the article incase you didnt have a chance to read that far into the article.
Acevedo said that calls to police from people complaining about solicitation and pedestrians in the road have grown from 2,507 in the first eight months of 2006 to 2,901 in the first eight months of this year. Charges filed for those offenses jumped from 767 to 1,659, he said.
Acevedo's data included a random sample of 30 people taken from the 1,659, which showed that 11 had previously been charged with felonies and that 14 had Class A or Class B misdemeanors on their records.
"One concern from the public is, 'Who's coming up to my car window? Who's on the other side of the window?' In half the cases, it's people with criminal records," McCracken said.
Cole countered: "The economically disadvantaged might be more likely to have a criminal record. I also don't want to assume that because someone has a Class A or Class B misdemeanor that they are automatically a threat to someone passing by or schoolchildren."
Kim said there have been 211 solicitation citations within 1,000 feet of school premises this year, creating an unsafe environment.
They've "banned" panhandling in Dallas, but it's not stopped it from occuring.
Here's a post on the death of the" USA " you might be interested in.
Also, you might want to activate your Word Verification to weed out spammers.
The reason panhandlers have criminal histories is because even though they did their time they are still ostrisized. The only way they can make money is panhandling.
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