Over the years I have heard some crazy stuff. Once I heard about a guy in a wheelchair in Las Vegas who when he left his corner got into his Cadillac and that he owned rental property all funded by his panhandling efforts. More recently I heard about a guy in San Antonio who earned $60,000 net per year tax free panhandling in San Antonio. Personally I have never met anyone like that and I have met a lot of panhandlers. I have always anecdotally felt that the real daily potential was in the $25 to $50 at most range with most on the lower end of that range. Now we have the facts.
The University of Texas at Austin as done a study titled "A Study of Public Solicitation in Austin" dated August 15, 2008 and here is what this says about the income of the panhandlers:
Qualitative data indicated that most respondents used solicitation as a survival strategy. Many respondents solicited to meet basic needs, because they faced many employment-related problems, or out of dire financial necessity. Responses indicated that there was a lack of perceived other options to meet these needs, due to factors such as illness and disability, family problems, and attempts to avoid criminal practices. Relatively few respondents referred to curiosity or ease as a factor leading to or propelling their participation in public solicitation (Table B6-1).
A great majority of respondents had been soliciting for less than 10 months (83%). Among those who had solicited along roadways for less than 10 months, individual durations varied widely (Table B6-2).
While respondents’ reported income from solicitation varied considerably, few reported income above minimum wage.
When respondents were asked how much they made on a "good day," answers varied widely; the lowest amount mentioned was "$0," while one extreme response was $300. Amounts were concentrated in the $11 to $40 per day range. Overall, 74% of participants made $50 or less on a "good day" (Table B6-3).
The range was much smaller for amounts earned on a typical "bad day." Not surprisingly, answers tended to concentrate around the lower end of the range—55% earned less than $5 on a bad day, and an additional 19% estimated between $6 and $10 per day. Relatively few individuals mentioned amounts between $21 and $60 per day as typical of a "bad day." Overall, 90% of respondents made $20 or less on a "bad day" (Table B6-4). In a long interview, a respondent noted that obtaining income by soliciting was a physically demanding activity, especially during the warmer months, and that it had to be done each day in order to survive.
See the new panhandling page on our website ( www.mlfnow.org/panhandling) for the link to this article and more!
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