St. Louis Aldermen Poised to Pass Bill to Restrict Panhandling

My friend and I had just finished lunch at a Chinese restaurant just south of downtown St. Louis. As we left the restaurant to go to our car, a young woman approached us with a small child in tow. She motioned towards a white car that was sitting with its hood open at the end of the parking lot. "Could you please help me?" She asked. "It seems that I have left my money in my wallet at home, my car has broken down, and I need some change to call for someone to come and get me." My friend and I pulled some loose change out of our pockets and gave it to the woman. She then walked over towards a payphone by the restaurant. We sat in out car and watched as she waited there for a couple of minutes and then approached another couple coming out of a nearby Walgreens. We watched as they dug down into their pockets too. Next there was a businessman in a suit that must have refused the woman because he just walked hurriedly to his car without even looking up. Then we saw the woman and the child walk over to the car, slam the hood shut, start the car and drive off. We realized that we had just been taken, but it was only a dollar so what was the big deal?

There was an interesting episode of the cartoon series South Park on Comedy Central, which showed the town in Colorado where the boys live being taken over by homeless people begging for change. This happened because Stan broke down and gave some change to one of them. As soon as word got out about his generosity, the town was inundated with zombie-like homeless chanting: "change, change, got some change?" It was then determined that they actually "lived" on change and that no amount of it would satisfy them.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, (www.stltoday.com) the St. Louis Board of Alderman is set to pass a bill that would restrict aggressive panhandling on the street. This is in response to some business owners complaining that the activity was getting out of hand in the Central West End. The ordinance will still allow panhandlers to stand quietly with a sign or orally beg, but it would not be allowed at night, outside of ATM machines, in parks, near schools, or in the doorways of local businesses. They will also not be allowed to block a person's path or persist after a person has said no. Violators will be issued a verbal warning on the first offense, then a fine, and finally they will be arrested on the third offense.

One panhandler was seen walking back to his SUV and removing his ratty old shirt for a nice new looking one. He then drove off. The average panhandler only makes about $30 a day, not very much, but some who are good at it can make over $100 a day. Before we wondered whether the money that we gave to panhandlers was going to be used to buy food or drugs and alcohol. Now we wonder if a professional has just approached us and begged for money. But it's only some change, it's no big deal.