# No, I don't have $5 to give you for gas. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 22, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505 "2009-11-22T06:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/81 "2009-11-24T03:33:00Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Yes, I much prefer taking a downtown area which has the most potential for producing tax revenue that can be used to actually help people and turning it onto a Disneyland for druggies so that shoppers and tourists stay away, stores and restaurants retreat to the suburbs, and the whole place can turn to shit. Then poor people can sleep there overnight and be robbed and molested by crack heads. Nothing better than walking around downtown and having to avoid the puke, human excrement, and the urine stink just to be accosted every few blocks with one scam after another. Then you can take public transportation and sit next to some smelly, crazy guy who scooped a transfer out of the trash. > > I want nothing more than our central cities to be clean and safe. The parks, museums, libraries, and public transportation are there to be enjoyed by all. When I grew up poor I loved to go into Boston because there were so many things that I could do for free. These days central cities have been taken over by crazies, drunks, druggies, and thugs. Helping them live in the street does not help them and it does not help society. A healthy “commons” is vital to social mobility. Sure it feels nice to give a bum some money, but\*\* it just hastens the day when every one who can will retreat to the suburbs and drive their SUVs to shop in soul-less malls full of chain stores and restaurants.\*\* Ouch! That sounds like my city! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/82 "2009-11-24T03:45:03Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I’ve heard that story a number of times, even multiple times in one day on several occasions. > > Usually embellished by claiming to have driven from(town 30 miles away) to visit mom and not having gas to get home. Visiting mom, huh? I get told they just got into town to start a job tomorrow, but are sort of short tonight. Three or four times this has happened. I wonder at their lack of planning; I would have somewhere to go if I was going to a strange city to start work tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/83 "2009-11-24T03:50:23Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > When I lived in Houston, I saw a guy all the time who had a sign that said “I want beer.” I think I may have given him a buck or two once, because I appreciated the honesty. Although I always wished I had a six pack on me when I drove by, so I could hand him a beer and see his reaction. He might well react by falling on the ground bleeding, depending on how fast you are driving by when you hand him the six-pack. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/84 "2009-11-24T03:52:26Z")
MrWhatsit tried to give a panhandler our leftover pizza on the subway one time (it was a whole pizza from California Pizza Kitchen so the guy wouldn’t have even had to be concerned about our germs or whatever). The guy had said that he was starving and hadn’t eaten for 3 days, but when MrWhatsit offered the pizza, he said, naw, he doesn’t like spicy food. This got a big laugh from the rest of the people on the subway car, but MrWhatsit wasn’t really going for a laugh, he was just offering the dude a pizza. We weren’t trying to cleverly catch him in a lie. But dude said he was hungry. We had no cash. We did have a pizza. He clearly would have preferred cash. So we kept our pizza and he moved on to the next car. Anyway, my point, assuming I have one, is that if someone says they’re hungry and you offer to get them some food, I think that’s legit. ---
**Author:** ![Cesario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Cesario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cesario)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/85 "2009-11-24T03:56:37Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > um… > > I’ve begged for gas from a stranger. > > It was the middle of the day the day though, and I was holding a one gallon gas tank begging “please! fill this up; My truck’s blocking traffic!” > > Not proud of it. That said, though, I do bet the guy **joebuck** ran into was just looking for money. I’ve said “no” to that type of assholes a bunch of times. Actually, what I usually say is “O.K., where you stranded?” They fold quick after that. I tried that solution, but the guy pulling it was pretty dedicated to his con, and before I realized how far in over my head I was, he’d directed me to a strange part of town I was unfamiliar with, and was refusing to get out of my car. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/86 "2009-11-24T04:34:30Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > He might well react by falling on the ground bleeding, depending on how fast you are driving by when you hand him the six-pack. Bottles or cans? Tallboys or regular size? These variances can greatly influence impact. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/87 "2009-11-24T05:25:36Z")
I’ve never been asked for money for petrol but I was in Town today, on a book buying spree, and was approached by a man who asked me if I could give him $4.00. I barely glanced at him as I declined but he didn’t look like a typical street beggar. I can’t help wondering, though, why he requested such a specific sum of money. I was waiting for the lights to change and overheard him ask at least one other person for the same amount. Our lowest note is $5, so if I’d agreed to give him what he asked, I’d have needed to dig around in my purse for 2 x two dollar coins or 4 x one dollar coins or some combination thereof. Or maybe he hoped I’d just give him a five dollar note. Still, it seemed a weird amount to ask for. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/88 "2009-11-24T05:31:59Z")
A woman asked me for $10 at a gas station to _buy Disney World tickets_ the other day, because “her friend had spent all their money on gas.” This was in downtown Orlando - at least a half-hour drive from Disney World. And at 5:15 in the afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/89 "2009-11-24T07:36:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A woman asked me for $10 at a gas station to _buy Disney World tickets_ the other day, because “her friend had spent all their money on gas.” > > This was in downtown Orlando - at least a half-hour drive from Disney World. And at 5:15 in the afternoon. In what alternate universe can you buy Disney World tickets for only ten dollars?? Because I’d kinda like to go there. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/90 "2009-11-24T08:30:57Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > A quick note for anyone who is curious: the United States spends upwards of $90,000 in housing per homeless person in the country ($67.5 billion as of 2009.) That doesn’t count many other forms of social service spending. Of course, many of the homeless are homeless _because_ they don’t take advantage of the billions of dollars the government spends subsidizing low income housing. Well there’s efficiency for you - $90k per homeless person and there’s still people on the streets begging. :dubious: Not that I doubt the figure, but it would point to something of a bigger problem in how the money’s being spent, or the figure has been disingenuously skewed. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/91 "2009-11-24T13:27:34Z")
I would love to sell you some gas , but I don’t have any on me. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/92 "2009-11-24T13:44:20Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Well there’s efficiency for you - $90k per homeless person and there’s still people on the streets begging. :dubious: > > Not that I doubt the figure, but it would point to something of a bigger problem in how the money’s being spent, or the figure has been disingenuously skewed. It’s actually way more money per homeless, and the $90k is kind of a “quick number” that isn’t necessarily meaningful. Remember that a lot of that $67bn goes to low income housing and thus because of it, many, many, many people are _not_ homeless. In fact, because of the spending of such money it is extremely unlikely that an individual who _wants_ to have a roof over their head will fail to have one. I’ve done a huge amount of work with the homeless over the years and while I’m sure some money is being misspent (and I guess **Constanze** would argue the German government never spends money inefficiently :dubious:) the real reason for homelessness has nothing to do with shelter space, lack of funding or et cetera. The number one, by far, biggest reason for homelessness is: Most places that house homeless will not house people who are under the effects of drugs or alcohol. Many, many homeless are addicts and they _will_ choose their drug over shelter, nearly every god damn time. The number two reason is severe mental illness, and of course many of the mentally ill homeless are also addicts. After that, much homeless is in the form of the “couch homeless” (people who are suffering temporary financial problems and are living on friend’s or parent’s couches); many of them could qualify for various housing assistance programs but many of them do not apply for such services. As for the $90,000 number, most news stories I’ve seen actually say that when you factor in their use of ambulances and emergency rooms your average homeless person costs the state over $150,000 a year. So yes, it would be cheaper if we just paid a $100,000/year stipend to every homeless person in the country. FWIW, I don’t think it’d fix the homeless problem. If you’ve ever known an addict you’d know $100k a year would just make them a wealthy addict. Anyway, if you’ve ever traveled you know that you’ll find many homeless people in the European utopias. In the United States homelessness is not a function of lack of spending. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/93 "2009-11-24T14:11:19Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Well there’s efficiency for you - $90k per homeless person and there’s still people on the streets begging. :dubious: > > Not that I doubt the figure, but it would point to something of a bigger problem in how the money’s being spent, or the figure has been disingenuously skewed. I think you may be missing something - that $90k is going to people who are _not_ currently homeless because they get to live in subsidized housing. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/94 "2009-11-24T14:48:53Z")
For those who think they need to carefully interview the beggar by asking questions to determine if they really need food, let me save you some trouble. They _don’t._ There are plenty of food pantries and such. They just need a couple bucks because they need it for whatever. They have addictions and demons and all sorts of shit going on that you don’t wanna know about. You don’t have to give. But I do, even though I know what’s really up. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/95 "2009-11-24T15:05:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Whatever. > > If you don’t want to give, don’t give. I couldn’t give a flying fuck. It just seems like more trouble than it’s worth to make it a big detective issue, to try and work out whether the poor schlub who wants your dollar really needs it for gas, or for booze, or for a meal. Especially since we already know, in 99 percent of cases, that the story is probably bullshit. So, if 99 percent are lying and want money for shit I DONT want to help them pay for (for perhaps very moral reasons) I have several choices. Give money away and 99 percent of the time have it wasted. Don’t give anyone any money. Or actually offer a guy food if he wants food or some gas if he needs gas, and if it passes the the 10 second smell test a TRUE person in need actually gets the help. And thats even better since I certainly can’t give everyone who wants some free money free money, so in this manner I can help more people in true need and not piss my limited resources away on addicts and probably doing them more harm than good in the long run. There’s no feeling superior about it. Its just basic reasoning skills that they don’t teach on flying fuck airlines apparently. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/96 "2009-11-24T15:16:46Z")
To Martin and RNATB, yes - I guessed as much, it bugs me though when people carelessly throw around such figures without proper explanation. That’s why I wanted to make a snarky remark to call attention to it ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/97 "2009-11-24T15:19:01Z")
There was a guy standing by the drive-through at Wendy’s who asked me if I’d get him chili. He didn’t ask for money - he specifically asked for chili. So, I got him some chili. Then I came back around and he was gone. Still, my coworker was happy. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/98 "2009-11-24T15:27:14Z")
Nobody who is sane-ish and able to get up and walk to tell you they need some cash is going hungry in an American city. _Nobody_. They might not be eating a fantastic diet, but they are _not starving_. The people who starve in America are insane or elderly or bedridden or babies or possibly very rural, they are not the guy with the cardboard sign. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/99 "2009-11-24T15:32:23Z")
With this economy and all the foreclosures, there are plenty of people who are homeless that never dreamed it could happen to them. A lot of homeless are vets who could not adjust to civilization after doing dirty work for us. It is easy to think they are all junkies or people who are scamming ,if you want an excuse not to help out the unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505/100 "2009-11-24T15:44:20Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > With this economy and all the foreclosures, there are plenty of people who are homeless that never dreamed it could happen to them. A lot of homeless are vets who could not adjust to civilization after doing dirty work for us. It is easy to think they are all junkies or people who are scamming ,if you want an excuse not to help out the unfortunate. Nah. Imma go ahead and say that even a homeless vet can get his hands on enough Ramen noodles and bread to choke a horse. It is just that, I think the life of a homeless vet, or a crack addict or a broken drunk…is hard enough. There are plenty of do gooders in the world, but sometimes a person just needs a comfort. That is all. Not a leg up, not a hot meal, but a comfort. Not everyone feels comfortable offering that kind of comfort (giving cash) and that is ok. But all the bullshit games to strip a man of his dignity to get him to admit he just wants a bottle…that gets on my nerves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-have-5-to-give-you-for-gas/518505.md?page=6)