I was raised to believe that because I was given so much, I was expected to give and be generous. And I have tried. But…Geesh…Gah! Panhandling, especially the way it is practiced in Salt Lake City has almost turned me into a miser. And it doesn’t help that I have seen more than one local news story that showed that an ambitious and effective panhandler can make hundreds if not thousands per day.
When I was teen, if my friends and I wanted money for cigarettes or Nirvana cds and our allowance wouldn’t stretch, we called it “Spare changing”. Just walk up to someone who looked like they had a job, smile. We’d ask them if they had any spare change. And they often did. Because it was the early 90s. People usually spent cash. Debit cards were still on the horizon. So if some jolly goofy kid wanted the jingle jangle change that was most likely going to end up at the bottom of your washing machine, you gave it to them.
And possibly a decade ago I was one of the late adopters to the debit card, tap to pay, and Venmo economy, so I usually had a few bucks to give. But it got out of had and I stopped feeling safe. And Salt Lake City heard the worries of people like me and repurposed parking meters for us to deposit our change in. And that spare change was given to local non-profits that aided the unhoused and in need. The results were mixed.
Which brings us to the now…I do not carry spare change. I do not carry any money at all. So when I am approached by someone asking for money I either feel like I am failing in my duty as Christian, and if God grades on a curve, and I get into heaven, this represents a major point deduction. Or I feel as if I am being presented with the reality that while I humped and hustled all day to make enough money to take care of myself and my little dog, this person got drunk or did drugs or spent several hours taking a nap in the park, and now wants me to share the days hard earned money. Therefore I would like to stamp my chest like the little sign bus drivers have. Driver carries no change. Well…Pedestrian Carries No Change.
