CleanCut, don't believe everything you see. I lived in L.A., for 35 years, and I can assure you that the "poor woman with two starving kids," was long odds on, a scam artist. That GM beg locale is a great "cry and beg" locale.
Those postitions around various "High Sympathy" areas are fought for by the scam artists and they will kill you for them. There are various families who run these shucks and make small fortunes.
If you want to see the real truth, just ask one of those "need work for food for starving kids" if he/she will come with you to do some yard work or whatever? They'll have seventeen excuses as to why they can't do any work "right now, I hurt my back, so uh, just give me the money for my kids," blah blah.
A good scam artist can make up to 800$ a day TAX FREE! A bad day is perhaps $400 per day.
There are entire families that work these scams and live much better lives than most of us can afford. Here's an example I actually witnessed.
In Studio City, in my neighborhood, a large, expensive Winnebago was parked on a side street. I saw a Mercedes, 450SEL, pull up and stop, followed by a BMW (can't remember the model but it was one of the large ones.) Two men were driving.
Three women got out, with several children. They were very well dressed. They went into the Winnebago and soon exited and got into the cars. They were dressed in rags and looked dirty [stage makeup]and the children looked like little Charles Dickens' urchins. The cars took off.
Later that day, I was at the Studio City shopping Center at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvds. Here's one of the "poor, outcast women, and two little children looking so pathetic" begging in the parking lot. Of course, people were showering them with money.
I drove to another primero beg spot and here was another one of the women from the Mercedes/BMW squad, doing the same.
Also saw the third woman at a great sympathy spot at he bottom of the offramp from the 101 Freeway onto Coldwater Canyon. They were all, as usual, scaming out the guilt ridden suckers for big, tax free bucks.
I saw this stuff going on for years.
Remember, that almost all genuinely poor people are on the govt. teat one way or another.... and there are actually many who are too proud to beg.
Not to say that everyone who begs is a scam artist, but most are, and they have a very good life, doing no work, and living in luxury, laughing at the suckers.
FWIW. J.B.
