Speaking strictly in terms of America here: Most homeless people/panhandlers are homeless by choice you know. It's incredibly easy to make money just standing on the street pretending to be homeless. Many people that do it for a living make up to 50 or more dollars a day. They stay out there because the money's good, and they'd rather live off that than go to a homeless shelter and have to go through the long process of trying to earn their own living. Easier to just beg and get money for free and eat/drink whatever they want with little consequence.
You often say things that are bullstuff out of ignorance rather than malice, so I'll just explain why homeless people aren't choosing to be homeless in terms of numbers and facts. Take it more as helpful information rather than an 'attack' on your position.
First of all,
many people who are homeless have a mental illness. 25% of homeless people suffer from a diagnosed, severe mental illness. In the general populace, it's only 6%, which means there's a clear, significant correlation between being mentally ill and being homeless. The same fact sheet I linked talks about why mental illness makes it harder for homeless people to live normal lives.
Serious mental illnesses disrupt people's ability to carry out essential aspects of daily life, such as self care and household management. Mental illnesses may also prevent people from forming and maintaining stable relationships or cause people to misinterpret others' guidance and react irrationally... As a result of these factors and the stresses of living with a mental disorder, people with mentally illnesses are much more likely to become homeless than the general population (Library Index, 2009)
Second,
many people who are homeless are substance dependent. 38% of homeless people were dependent on alcohol, and 26% abused other drugs. Because they have substance addictions, it is extremely difficult for homeless people to gain stable employment and live normal lives. These addictions are usually comorbid with mental illnesses like BPD and depression, and they often take drugs as a way of self-medicating for their illness. Rehab is obviously not an option because it's prohibitively expensive.
Third, there is
actual research debunking the claim that panhandlers are scam artists trying to get rich. They surveyed hundreds of people in San Francisco who were panhandling and found that 26% of them were veterans, 82% of them were homeless, 62% were disabled, 32% had drug addictions, 60%
make less than $25 a day, and 94% use the money for food. These are not people trying to live the 'easy life' by begging for money. They have forgeted up lives and probably no hope of ever making it off the streets alive. That being said, they also found 44% of the panhandlers used the money for drugs/alcohol, so it is acceptable if you don't want to give them money.
