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What's weird is that NO ONE WANTS TO WORK these day. I swear every other business I drive by says they're hiring and need employees....and just about every store I shop at has told me that they're short staffed these days. Now if we could just get the panhandlers to go work, we'd solve the labor shortage.



What's weird is that NO ONE WANTS TO WORK these day. I swear every other business I drive by says they're hiring and need employees....and just about every store I shop at has told me that they're short staffed these days. Now if we could just get the panhandlers to go work, we'd solve the labor shortage.
This puzzles me too. Neighbor of mine (nice guy) told me he hasn’t worked for 8 months due to employer going out of business. Told me he was paid off the books so no unemployment. Can’t remember what he did for a living, but he seemed to not be looking for something else. He lives with his family in one floor of his MIL’s house, but I’m sure she charges him rent.
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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
What's weird is that NO ONE WANTS TO WORK these day. I swear every other business I drive by says they're hiring and need employees....and just about every store I shop at has told me that they're short staffed these days. Now if we could just get the panhandlers to go work, we'd solve the labor shortage.
Hope you never have to panhandle, but I’d still give you a dollar.

The jobs stuff is always weird, because there are “real” jobs and “stuff that kids in high school do to have money to buy weed while they still live with mom and dad and have a vehicle provided for them.”

Most of the jobs I see are service and retail that don’t pay a single person’s living wage, let alone a family. Service and retail have long been subsidized by welfare programs in order to allow people to get by.

I don’t think there are a lot of $20/hr jobs that people are thumbing their nose at.

And there are still a lot of people that are freaked out by covid and don’t want to work in a shoebox with 10 others making fries.



Hope you never have to panhandle, but I’d still give you a dollar.

The jobs stuff is always weird, because there are “real” jobs and “stuff that kids in high school do to have money to buy weed while they still live with mom and dad and have a vehicle provided for them.”

Most of the jobs I see are service and retail that don’t pay a single person’s living wage, let alone a family. Service and retail have long been subsidized by welfare programs in order to allow people to get by.

I don’t think there are a lot of $20/hr jobs that people are thumbing their nose at.

And there are still a lot of people that are freaked out by covid and don’t want to work in a shoebox with 10 others making fries.
Yeah, there are a lot of radio ads right now for jobs and the way they talk about the pay and benefits just makes me kind of sad. "Wages up to $14 per hour!". I mean, that's just a little above what I made as a video store clerk over a decade ago, and despite working two jobs at that time (one full time and one part time) I was still below the poverty line. And no way would I want to work any kind of customer service right now, where asking someone to put a mask on could get you beat up or shot.

We're having a hard time finding substitute teachers, despite the pay being decent (about $100 per day). But it's a really stressful job, and one of the women we had in had to stop coming for two days because she thought she might have caught COVID from the children. (All of our students are unvaccinated, of course, and we're averaging about 2 kids per week testing positive).



Hope you never have to panhandle, but I’d still give you a dollar.

The jobs stuff is always weird, because there are “real” jobs and “stuff that kids in high school do to have money to buy weed while they still live with mom and dad and have a vehicle provided for them.”

Most of the jobs I see are service and retail that don’t pay a single person’s living wage, let alone a family. Service and retail have long been subsidized by welfare programs in order to allow people to get by.

I don’t think there are a lot of $20/hr jobs that people are thumbing their nose at.

And there are still a lot of people that are freaked out by covid and don’t want to work in a shoebox with 10 others making fries.
Minimum Wage in the state of Washington is $13.69 per hour, not unusual for starting wages to be $15.00 hour. And where I live there's a lot of business with signs saying they need employees. New home construction around here has gone wild too, business are begging for workers.

But you're right a number of the pan handling around here is about buying weed or other dope or booze or cigarettes or Starbucks!



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
I think some of us are too detached from reality or insulated.

Just because someone wants to start a business and profit off of me, doesn’t me that I have an obligation to accept their terms. It just rings hollow for someone to say, “I’m offering a job, I need the person to have all these skills and I’m paying a wage that works me, the employer, you won’t accept my terms, so you’re the problem”. Just like people complain other countries while going to Walmart and filling up their cart with stuff made in those countries, because price.

At multiple points during my ongoing midlife crisis, I think of starting a business. It often comes to, what could I do by myself? Partly because I would feel obligated to pay an employee a minimum of $20/hr. and that is a lot to pay. In the south, where c.o.l. is low.

$15/hr is probably still not making a car payment, housing payment, savings contributions. Then throw in the coronavirus aspect (when you need to stay on topic) and being surrounded by people wearing chin diapers all day.





I don’t think there are a lot of $20/hr jobs that people are thumbing their nose at.

Not sure this is true. Unfortunately (and I see this where I live) there are some folks that will not work. Period. A lot of it is legacy: my mom didn’t work, my grandma didn’t work, etc., etc.



I think some of us are too detached from reality or insulated.

Just because someone wants to start a business and profit off of me, doesn’t me that I have an obligation to accept their terms. It just rings hollow for someone to say, “I’m offering a job, I need the person to have all these skills and I’m paying a wage that works me, the employer, you won’t accept my terms, so you’re the problem”. Just like people complain other countries while going to Walmart and filling up their cart with stuff made in those countries, because price.

At multiple points during my ongoing midlife crisis, I think of starting a business. It often comes to, what could I do by myself? Partly because I would feel obligated to pay an employee a minimum of $20/hr. and that is a lot to pay. In the south, where c.o.l. is low.

$15/hr is probably still not making a car payment, housing payment, savings contributions. Then throw in the coronavirus aspect (when you need to stay on topic) and being surrounded by people wearing chin diapers all day.
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at...but yesterday I went by the intersection where I often see a couple of different guys pan handling. Guys who appear more fit and younger than me, they look like they could out work me any day of the week. The thing is a mere 150 yards away is a Panda take out restaurant, which has a sign out front that says they're hiring at $15.50 start-up to $21 and with free meals. Now explain to me what logic applies to a person not being able to work for $15.50 as it's not enough money to live on BUT instead they can pan handle for their living?



I'm not quite sure what you're getting at...but yesterday I went by the intersection where I often see a couple of different guys pan handling. Guys who appear more fit and younger than me, they look like they could out work me any day of the week. The thing is a mere 150 yards away is a Panda take out restaurant, which has a sign out front that says they're hiring at $15.50 start-up to $21 and with free meals. Now explain to me what logic applies to a person not being able to work for $15.50 as it's not enough money to live on BUT instead they can pan handle for their living?
Yes, I see this all the time. You make a very good point.

(Don’t know why the cops always move these panhandlers along at intersections when I can’t see that they’re causing any trouble.)

Got acquainted with one young guy (Bill) during the summer with his so sweet doggie Mia. Shelters won’t take animals so he & Mia sleep in the park. He says quite a few people donate stuff to him, but some of it is heavy & he can only carry so much. Last time I saw him he was with Mia & a friend taking a break outside Dunkin. Both of them helping Mia with a drink of water.

I asked him what on earth would he do in the winter & he said he didn’t have an answer for this. Quite a few people I noticed this year have a tent, which is a good idea, but it will be cold in a New England winter.



Not every job is meant to support a family. It would actually be completely dysfunctional, economically, for this to be the case. A dynamic economy requires that people--and statistically they are overwhelmingly young people and/or people specifically just looking to supplement their income--have a significant number of zero-barriers-to-entry positions available to them, and the turnover inherent in that availability necessarily means lower wages. It's a feature, not a bug.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
@CR Your belief system works for you and that’s all that matters.

I’m fortunate enough to not have to panhandle, but I also don’t judge with my charity. A philosophy of mine, “Never refuse someone that is asking for help.” Yes, there are exceptions.

I’m glad you have all the answers CR. Unfortunately, I’m still looking.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Not every job is meant to support a family. It would actually be completely dysfunctional, economically, for this to be the case. A dynamic economy requires that people--and statistically they are overwhelmingly young people and/or people specifically just looking to supplement their income--have a significant number of zero-barriers-to-entry positions available to them, and the turnover inherent in that availability necessarily means lower wages. It's a feature, not a bug.
I understand things like this. My issue stems from businesses lamenting, “We can’t staff because…” To me, that is their problem. If you have a business, designed to require a certain type of employee, that you can’t find, your approach needs some rethinking.



I think that's true unless something else is interfering in the market process. For example, if this is a blip caused in part by stimulus payments, fear of the pandemic, and people moving back home or something, or some combination of these things, then "just pay higher wages" may be a long-term change to what's a short-term disruption.

That said, it is obviously true that some services or products are simply not viable unless wages are low enough. I just think your average worker/consumer might be disturbed to learn how many things fall into that category.

I'm also totally happy with "that's their problem" so long as we take the same approach with employees, at least to a degree. We can be all-in-this-together or we can accept the effectiveness of a moderately adversarial system, but we can't switch back and forth.



@CR Your belief system works for you and that’s all that matters.
I doubt you know what my belief system is and to be fair I doubt I know what yours or another persons belief system might be...unless they've taken the time to fully explain their belief system...which I haven't.
I’m glad you have all the answers CR. Unfortunately, I’m still looking.
I don't believe I said I have all the answers. In fact if you've been reading my many 10,000s of post here at MoFo you know that mostly I claim to not know the answers. All I know is if I needed to support my family by panhandling Instead I'd 'lower' myself to working in fast food for $15.50 an hour with free meals and insurance included....Unless of course one makes more money panhandling.




“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
I doubt you know what my belief system is and to be fair I doubt I know what yours or another persons belief system might be...unless they've taken the time to fully explain their belief system...which I haven't.
I don't believe I said I have all the answers. In fact if you've been reading my many 10,000s of post here at MoFo you know that mostly I claim to not know the answers. All I know is if I needed to support my family by panhandling Instead I'd 'lower' myself to working in fast food for $15.50 an hour with free meals and insurance included....Unless of course one makes more money panhandling.

I never made a statement about knowing your belief system. I actually was acknowledging that I accept your belief, wether I agree or not.

To stay on topic 😏 Like I don’t bother arguing about people wearing masks. If you do, fine. If you don’t, fine. You have the right to make up your own mind as you see fit. Repercussions find a way of handling themselves.



As someone who lost their job because of the pandemic, and had to move from the city I lived in my entire life to find a more affordable situation, and has been applying to no end of jobs that are well below what I should be earning because of my experience and education, I'd like to suggest there might not be that strong a correalation between a Panda Express job posting and someone pan handling outside of it.


There seems to be assumptions here that these particularly people haven't applied to jobs. That by looking at them we can determine how able bodied they are. And, even if it is the case that these particular panhandlers are 'choosing' this life style, this is obviously an anecdotal situation and hardly addresses the deeper problems at work here.


If it had not been for the social assistance my government afforded me during this period, or having a family that would have my back in case things had become really dire, or the fact that I live a near monk like existence where I hardly spend any money to begin with, I would have been forced to get out on the street looking for alms as well. After 12 months of being told I am over qualified for entry level positions I have been desperate to get, and being completely ignored by jobs that I should be completely qualified for, I've finally had a job offer. For part time. Seasonal. Minimum wage. And, even though I can see with my eyes there are no shortage of jobs out there, I've had to consider myself lucky to have got it, because I know from experience not every one who is in need and is looking is also getting hired.



I never made a statement about knowing your belief system. I actually was acknowledging that I accept your belief, wether I agree or not.
OK I see, thanks for explaining.

Just for the record, I don't have one belief system about panhandling and I don't buy into any type of dogma or social concepts about it. As I originally posted I just A) seen help wanted signs and B) seen some very fit looking, younger guys panhandling not far from those signs. But I don't have a unified theory or anything like that, it just depends on the situation. When I was in Mexico I seen this woman panhandling, OMG she looked so destitute, she was old and couldn't walk as she had a deformed foot that was the size of a melon, so she sat on the dirty, crowded sidewalk holding a tray with a few coins it...I had great sympathy for her.



...To stay on topic 😏 Like I don’t bother arguing about people wearing masks. If you do, fine. If you don’t, fine. You have the right to make up your own mind as you see fit. Repercussions find a way of handling themselves.
In my state wearing mask in public buildings are required, so I have a real problem with people violating state mandated health laws when they don't wear a mask. Not to mention they can kill a stranger by spreading their germs. And I was shopping yesterday and seen a lot of people not wearing mask in stores.

I also have a real problem with some southern states like Texas making laws that forbid schools and business from require mask wearing. More lives put at risk.



I'm not quite sure what you're getting at...but yesterday I went by the intersection where I often see a couple of different guys pan handling. Guys who appear more fit and younger than me, they look like they could out work me any day of the week. The thing is a mere 150 yards away is a Panda take out restaurant, which has a sign out front that says they're hiring at $15.50 start-up to $21 and with free meals. Now explain to me what logic applies to a person not being able to work for $15.50 as it's not enough money to live on BUT instead they can pan handle for their living?
While it's true that there are some people who don't want to work and are happy to live on charity and/or government support programs, there are a LOT of reasons why people cannot get or keep jobs:

Substance abuse problem that makes it hard to go a full shift without a hit OR makes it hard to consistently arrive to a job on time

Executive functioning disorder that impacts time management and organization (say keeping a uniform clean, filling out paperwork correctly, etc)

Social/emotional disability that is untreated, ie the person who will go from zero to throwing a punch if they end up in a confrontation

Criminal record that automatically disqualifies you from a job

Mental health issues

Child care situations that frequently disrupt a typical work day

Physical disability that is disqualifying (ie cannot lift 50 lbs)

And while some of the things listed above can be addressed, often people who are homeless or homeless-adjacent do not have access to the resources they need to successfully address them. From my work in various soup kitchens, I can say that many people have issues that you can just tell would not be a good fit for a regimented job.

Then there's just biases that exist within the hiring process, and an employer can just say "I didn't get a good feeling off of him" and that's that.