I lied. I said I didn't have a quarter. The fact is I had three rolls of quarters in my pocket. I admit I am not a good liar, but I can lie like the best of them to some person on the street asking for a quarter. The fact is that in San Francisco we are faced every day on the street people begging for money. Some people are in the same spot daily and they get to know the people who pass them by. Each person has their own set-up for asking for money. The best one I saw was a few weeks ago two guys are walking down Market Street with a Golden Lab walking behind them. In the mouth of the dog is a cardboard sign reading "Fuck you. Give me the money." The dog was just as happy as if it was carrying a tennis ball in its mouth.
So I lied. And I felt somewhat bad about it. I usually feel somewhat bad about it because I know it would take a lot for me to go up to anyone and ask for money. I work at a job, which I am fortunate to have. I have a roof over my head and I am able to entertain myself the way I like to be entertained. I have a car, granted an older one, but I don't care because a car doesn't define who I am. I pay my bills. I invest my money in retirement savings and try to have enough so that I don't get behind. Unlike others I know who live paycheck to paycheck, I too feel like I live paycheck to paycheck. I do know that I am not destitute and have no plans to become destitute.
What about these people who are destitute? I keep thinking that the best thing we can do for the rest of the country who don't see these people is to put them on a bus and ship them where people don't see them normally so that they will know what it's like to see homeless people on the street or mentally ill people wandering all over the place.
Anyway, getting back to the topic of sparing a quarter - I said "No" and kept walking. I could have stopped and given him a quarter. I could have given him the whole roll and been ok with it, but I said "No." So I looked up on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis's web site (they have a calculator of what something is worth today compared to what is was worth in the past). I've wondered why these people who are begging for money are bidding so low. A quarter today doesn't buy but a gumball - a gumball that will have no flavor three minutes after chewing it. Why a quarter? In 1932 - 25 cents is the equivalent of $4.08 today. $4.08 is about what it would cost to get the cheapest meal at McDonald's. In 1932 not as many quarters were in circulation as they are today, but if someone flipped you a quarter that was good enough to get a good meal! A quarter today won't buy anything to eat and it will take 20 quarters to get you $5 to get a meal. So why are people not asking for a dollar? I don't know. I'd have to ask that question. Maybe because to get a dollar means opening a wallet and that takes too much time to get to, so a quarter, which is in your pocket can be obtained quicker? If I were out on the street asking people for money I'd be asking for a dollar or five dollars or something because then I could get a meal better than by asking for a quarter.
I wonder if the next time you think of giving change to someone you decide "i'm going to give this person a dollar instead" then maybe that will mean more for that person who is getting the money and for you the giver because it will mean that you are really helping out.
I helped a lady out a few months ago by giving her a $20. She came up to me in the parking lot of Trader Joe's in Alameda. Now, I will admit because she was dressed nice and appeared nice and gave me a story of how much she really needed I gave her more than if she had been really down and out. I gave her $20 and she gave me a hug and I watched her walk away. I watched her walk through the parking lot and later saw her asking someone else for money. I suspected that she really didn't need to get to Vallejo, but who am I to judge. Maybe she really needed the money, maybe she had a drug problem, maybe she has lots of money and for kicks goes out to see what sap she can get to give her money. I do know that she was approaching men and not women. I think women are less likely to give money than men because men carry money in their pockets and not in a wallet in their purse since men don't carry a purse.
Why did I give her $20 and I couldn't give the guy a quarter? Good question. I am not sure there is an answer. But I lied to him. He didn't know if I was lying or not. He probably assumed as I would that I was lying, for people usually have cash on them. Someday I should decide to take $20 one dollar bills and pick a point and see how far I will be able to go before I am out of money giving one dollar at a time to the first people I either see or who ask needing money. In San Francisco I am willing to bet I don't go two blocks. In Fresno I will get further, but at the major intersections there will be someone asking for money. I do know that if the person(s) are smoking I tend to figure they are spending the money they have on cigarettes, so why perpetuate the addiction? And do these people really want to get money to get on a better footing? Some would argue "No" and others would argue "Yes." Each situation is different.
I am glad I could have this conversation with you today. This blog business is pretty good because I know people read what I write, but for me it gives me something to write about that is all about what I am thinking - for this is The View From Up Here!
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