Sydney homeless man makes $50,000 a year begging

news ^ | August 23, 2009

[JoeProBono]

THE hours are long and the work monotonous, but begging pays well for at least one of Sydney's homeless men who earns up to $50,000 a year from good samaritans. Ken Johnson, 52, makes his living on busy George and Market St, outside the Myer store in Sydney's CBD, where he sits for up to 16 hours daily, seven days a week.

[JoeProBono]

Monotonous work ... but Ken Johnson, 52, says he makes a good living / Angelo Soulas

[Nachum]

Work?

[Allegra]

Hammerfrog drummer ping.

[immadashell]

And every penny is tax exempt.

[fatima]

I couldn’t do 16 hours and I would want 2 days a week off :)

[EGPWS]

but begging pays well for at least one of Sydney's homeless men who earns up to $50,000 a year from good samaritans.

I'd like to know what the average I.Q. of us "good samaritans" is.

I bet I'm at the top of the scale.

[immadashell]

Very little difference between this and welfare.

[TomGuy]

Abt 15 years ago, one of the Dallas area TV stations interviewed some of the street panhandlers [those at intersections selling roses, cleaning auto windows, etc.].

One guy confessed that he made over $27k panhandling. That was non-taxed cash income.

[shaft29]

A while back I came off a highway ramp and there was a “homeless” guy standing there with the usual sign.

I drove past and went to Mcdonalds for lunch. I always sit in the parking lot and do crossword puzzles while I eat lunch.

About 15 minutes later the homeless guy comes walking through the parking lot talking on a cell phone.

Must be a great life.

[fatima]

[Huskrrrr]

I remember standing in line, in SF, waiting for a ticket to ride the Powell St. Cable Car in June at the height of the tourist season. In front of me was an Aussie family on vacation. A homeless man hit up the father for spare change and his reply was “Not a chance, mate”. I've used that line myself on several occasions. I'm really surprised someone could make such a living in Australia, the land of rugged individualism. Must be the Sydney tourists giving the bum spare change.

[EGPWS]

Very little difference between this and welfare.

True, one willingly pays taxes to pay for it or tosses it away or both.

The little difference is that the middle man is cut out (politicians with a big appetite for labor)when just tossing your money away on street whores.

[EGPWS]

Monotonous work ... but Ken Johnson, 52, says he makes a good living

And as soon as he gets free health care life will then be worth living even though he is self centered worthless scum who has no consideration for any other life on the planet.

[doodad]

Alms for an old ex-leper?

[EGPWS]

I couldn’t do 16 hours and I would want 2 days a week off :)

If I were a "porn star" I would demand the same!

I'm a very giving person otherwise.... LOL!

[Sherman Logan]

earns up to $50,000 a year from good samaritans.

1. He doesn't "earn" this money.

2. The Good Samaritan in Jesus' parable didn't give money to someone who could work for it. He came to the assistance of a crime victim.

[EGPWS]

Work?

He follows the DNC dogma of productive living.

[Doe Eyes]

And as soon as he gets free health care

I doubt this guy pays for his medical care.

[dog breath]

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what these folks are up to if you work in a urban area and see the same guys day after day. I would rather give a buck to some wino who is straight with me and says he just wants a drink then one of these guys. They are in every medium to larger city. At least the good ones have their act down, the worst are the really bad ones who insult your intelligence. I did give a girl, with a lame story,, a dollar, because her creepy boyfriend had sent out in single digit weather to panhandle while he sat all warm in the van.

[humblegunner]

He’s a little too high class for the job.