"I’m not interested in the wealth gap as that can take the conversation entirely south..."

And then, headed down to FLA...

"A detailed study by the Centre On Budget And Polices Priorities(CBPP) has shown that income inequality has exponentially increased since the advent of capitalism..."

Anyway, beggars have always given people a chance to do something good and display their virtue that doesn't cost too much. Begging is a good job for someone who would rather drink than work, and has no shame. I always donate to buskers, and I don't care what kind of music they are playing. I want something besides fake virtue for my spare change, and capitalism provides something for everyone.

I was stuck for a little while in Union Station in DC at the begining of the pandemic in March 2020, and virtually all of the stores and restaurants were closed and no one was riding the commuter trains and Amtrak. There are typically A LOT of police officers in Union Station from several different agencies including Amtrak, DC Metro, DEA, and Homeland Security, but on this particular day there was not one single cop and that was a little disturbing. The homeless, beggars, and lunatics that are always around the station, which is in view of the US Capitol by the way, had the run of the place but there was virtually no one to beg from or annoy with their ravings. It was a little bit like a zombie apocalypse.

I had a nice young couple that was sitting next to me near the gate, and I think that the gentleman may have been a soldier. A rather smelly beggar came up to them and slurred out that he was hungry. The woman reached into her bag, pulled out a paper carton of hot Chinese food, a packet of plastic ware, and a napkin, and told the man that they had just bought it. "Enjoy." The beggar looked at it, sidled over to the husband and said, "I don't want this. I want money. You're the same race as me." The husband told him to have a nice day, and the beggar threw the carton of hot food at the wife. The husband jumped up with murder in his eyes. All of a sudden a group of Amtrak red caps rushed over, grabbed the beggar, and told him they were going up to the next level in the cavernous station and throw him off the mezzanine. He twisted free and ran out of the station cursing all and sundry.

1.) That's why we have cops, although obviously you can't trust them to be around.

2.) That's why begging is illegal in certain places.