Poverty in Bonners Ferry

I saw something today that truly upset me. In the parking lot of our largest supermarket were two different individuals holding carboard signs saying simply, "hungry." One was on one side of the large parking lot and the other one was quite some distance away on the other side. This upset me because I have never seen it before here in Bonners Ferry. I could not tell if these individuals were locals or not but I suspect they were not. Did I give them money or food. Of course not. Why did I not? Because I'm not certain if they were genuinely hungry or not. These beggars have fouled their own nests as near as I can tell. I see them in Spokane and Seattle all the time. They appear on certain corners with their cardboard signs with regularity. You never see two of them on the same corner at the same time. Indeed, there is a regularity in their appearances, a regularity that can only result from some kind of organization. I suspect they are allotted certain corners at certain times. In short, it is some kind of racket. There was an article a couple of years ago in the Spokesman Review suggesting just this. So, where I used to sometimes give them money I no longer do. As the unemployment rate is relatively low, and there seem to be plenty of available jobs, why should anyone be begging? I am aware that there may be some individuals who are so crippled or mentally handicapped they may have no other choice. But none of these beggars that I see fall into that category. They appear to be perfectly healthy in every way. I suspect they make more money begging than they could make working at most minimum wage jobs. After a few hours on the street they probably go home, change clothes, and go out to enjoy dinner. I'm sorry to appear so cynical but this is what I have come to believe. Years ago there was a marvelous black man in Spokane with the most wonderful long winded story about why he needed money. I encountered him with some regularity. I finally reached an agreement with him: if you promise not to tell me your story again I will give you a dollar when I see you. This was a contract that lasted quite a long time and while it cost me a few dollars it spared me a lot of wasted time. I loved this guy. He was creative, articulate, and the twinkle in his eye gave away his wonderful sense of humor.

But on a more serious note: why, in the United States of America, should there be any beggars, no matter what their motives? Why should there be any homeless or hungry? Why should anyone have to go without any kind of health care? Why should such a tiny fraction of population control so much of the wealth? Why should a CEO make a hundred million dollars a year while others make a ridiculously low minimum wage? Why do so many millions of people go hungry and even starve while some of us sit on what is nothing short of an obscene abundance of food? An abundance so great one of our serious problems at the moment is obesity. Think about it the next time you visit the supermarket and gaze upon a sixty foot row of different frozen potatoes or row upon row of pop tarts and other junk foods. Why do little old ladies need Ford 150's or Ram 250's to do their grocery shopping? America is truly a wondrous place.