Hi NoNukes,
Here are some people who actually understand "homeless people"
http://www.step13.org/index.php/en/
Step 13 has handed out tens of thousands of vouchers where you, as a homeless person, can come and get a free meal and work your way off the streets into a job. Last I heard they have never had a voucher turned in. They accept NO government money, so they actually do a good job with people who need help and aren't running the homeless scam.
The homeless scam:
Back in 1971 I had a friend in college Ed Chrissman, who told me what he did to get money was he went to downtown Buffalo and went up Main Street and then back down asking people for spare change so he could get something to eat. He told me he made $200 to $250 a run and this was at a time the minimum wage was $1.50 as I recall. Said he had to go into stores to change his coins for paper money as his pockets were full.
Amazing, at the time I worked and was making $5.00/hr or $40 a day, so in one day Ed could earn as much as I did in a week and pay no taxes on it.
Ed loved Thanksgiving and Christmas, as the saps like Ringo and Phat were out in full force.
Offer to take a homeless person to a restaurant and give them a good meal, they won't accept. The economics don't work, they loose their corner or sweet spot and they can make a lot more money staying there instead of killing 30 minutes or an hour with you.
Just so you know this only works in cities filled with Democrats.
And this is closer to the TRUTH than what Ringo and Phat think.