During my time in Asia, I walked past several beggars (hark yees), ranging from old Asian men with tattered clothing to kids who'd have some sort of disability. Each time I walked past , I would contemplate whether or not I should give them money.
I know that I have been extremely blessed and should give away just a fraction of what I already have however there is anotehr side of me saying that I shouldn't because we really don't know where our money is going. I'm not so sure about the situation in Australia, But in HK I've heard many stories about these people working for the triads. There have also been news reports where several beggers are earning more than enough and are living in luxurious hotels and driving prestigious cars after hours. Although these thoughts run through my head everytime I pass them, I tend not to give out my money.
What are your thoughts?
While eating dinner with a few friends, we decided to calculate how much a begger would receive in a day /week and year.
Assuming I was a begger in Causeway bay (One of the busiest places in HK.)
We assume 1 million people (if not more) walk past every hour.
We assume 1% of these people give at least 10c.
When we project these figures and forecast to a bigger view, it means that I earn:
$1000 HKD/ hr
$9000 HKD / day (assuming I work 9hrs a day)
$54000 HKD/Week (Assuming I work a standard HK week of 6 days)
$2592000 / Year (Assuming I take 4 weeks annual leave )
Therefore I would be earning $432000 AUD.
Now these figures might be ambitious but even if you divide these figures by 10, you are still earning HEAPS compared to everyone else in HK who are hustling hard in the markets getting ripped off and sales people who get paid like $3/AUD an hr.
I'm sure there are genuine beggers out there who have been forced into these situations, But where is our money really going?
Generally If I see someone whos playing an instrument or dancing around and actually working for their money, I tend to have a kinder heart to these people...
What do you think?
3 comments:
hahahah you heartless man!!! wen i worked in causeway for $5 an hour i always used to walk past the same dude so i guess he must either be REALLY committed or hes stuck there. but to be honest i didnt give him anything either.. i did see some guy with no hands writing bible verses with a calligraphy brush in his mouth though. that was impressive!
this was lifted from your myspace blog, written over 1 year ago!
bahaha true this beggar post sounds strangely familiar...
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