Beggars

Part of my role and duty as an Adelaide cosmopolitan is to frequently enjoy the tastes and smells of our very own and very trendy (in its own alternative-chic way) East End. I was doing so today in a coffee break with my dear friend/colleague Candice as we coffeed in the quaint Italian cafe Al Fresco. We had a splendid time sharing thoughts on music and on university life, but our peaceful bubble was burst for a brief moment when a beggar interrupted our conversation, asking for financial aid. I have always been sceptical of beggars and their true intentions, as throughout my young adult life I have come across a variety of shonky conmen, of whom TT or ACA would be proud. Whilst attending PAC I would regularly pass the train station (a known incubator of the bacteria-like begging scum), and I would frequently be approached by impoverished persons asking money for a train ticket. However, I was well aware that they wanted no such ticket and would rather spend my generously donated money on heroin with which to feed their monkey-children, so in a cunning ploy I would always offer them my own train ticket rather than money. At this point they would always trip up, often fumbling their words as they tried to explain that a ticket just wouldn’t do, and that they in fact needed the cash. The more desperate would occasionally try changing their story, but in each case they were aware of their defeat. I have always been reluctant to donate.

Today’s experience led me to ponder the system of giving and begging, and the consequences of donation. The drawn conclusion was that giving to beggars is essentially financing poverty. This is based on the argument of dependency, in that by providing a hand-out we are merely discouraging independent thought and action on the part of the recipient to alleviate their situation of hardship. I remember as a young child my grandmother would leave food for young native birds that would frequent her garden. Over time the birds learnt to come every day, always at the same time, and eventually this became their only source of food. At the time of my grandmother’s passing we thought very little of the impact this would have on birds, and we were accordingly surprised to find dead and dying birds in her garden over the few weeks immediately following her death. Their dependency killed them.

Poverty is cyclical, and the key to alleviating it is to break the cycle at whichever link possible. For instance: a poor man’s lack of employment results in a lack of income, which in turn results in a lack of education, rendering him unemployable, and so the cycle continues. To employ him as a relatively unskilled worker, say at Hungry Jack’s (within walking distance of café Al Fresco), would provide him with income, which could in turn allow him education in a trade, giving him greater employability and the likelihood of a long term source of income. But to provide him with a one-off payment – barely enough to buy his next bottle of bourbon – does nothing but to reinforce his position at the bottom of the socio-economic food chain. He will become dependent on these donations, and they will never be enough to provide any financial stability. So next time you are approached by a beggar, think to yourself, ‘Do I really want to fund poverty?’