I agree with you on this. There are tons of beggars here in Texas. They stand on literally every busy street corner. Granted who knows who is really telling the truth and needs help, or who I just there to get the money. I've heard on several occasions that you can bring in quite a bit of money from people of you claim to be homeless. I normally don't give to these people either, unless I'm feeling super generous. On one occasion though, I had an older gentleman limp up to a steak and shake drive through. The person in front of me in line wouldn't give him the time of day, but I will always usually listen to people. He told me all he wanted was one of their $4 meals. He'd been traveling for two days and needed something to eat so he could take his medications (then he held up a plastic bag full of pill bottles). Because he was only asking for food (he specifically said he didn't want any money) I felt pretty compelled to buy him something. $4 is an amount I'm sure I waste on other things I don't need anyway. I bought him his food and he seemed grateful and he limped back to a park bench. So - I agree with your observations. Anyone who is really and truly in need will accept any kind of assistance you are willing to give them. It's just unfortunate that people try to take advantage of the system. It's hard to weed out who is telling the truth and who is lying.