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Coins are dead, and I haven't carried cash for years, so
how
do you give to that homeless guy?
Being a heartless bastard I dont give able bodied men
money when they're begging on the street. I've had to
take
horrible, humiliating jobs in the past, anything that was
available so I no sympathy
for anybody not willing to do
what I did to survive at certain times in my life.
But occasionally I'll come across somebody who is truely
obviously infirmed due to age or missing limbs etc. This
makes me feel kind of bad that I don't have any money
to
give them since I really don't carry any.
To solve this problem, Remucon announces the ApplePay
equipped homeless sign
attachment. Clips onto your sign asking for money and
allows people to give a dollar from their apple pay with
the touch of a button. The sign would indicate that it's
set
up for $1 so the person isn't asking for much.
Might be something that a charity would get and
distribute.
Of course I'm not the person to sell such an concept
since
you'd have to wrap the idea in virtue signalling to make
it
happen, something I'm not very good at.
Addendum: This unit would have the logo of a trusted
agency like the Red Cross who would administer these
units and the dispersion of the funds so there's an added
level of trust. Additionally, from the homeless person's
perspective, they only need to have a picture taken (It
would be on the unit as well)
Addendum 2: They'd be given a card and
a pin number but it would be similar to those general
assistance cards that can only buy food so they won't buy
booze or drugs. Lots of homeless people have addition
issues so this would insure that your donation wasn't
making things worse for them.
Baked...in a Square
https://squareup.co...ry_redirection=true
IF homeless person has cell phone [Sgt Teacup, Mar 18 2019]
Goodwill fraud?!
https://www.cbc.ca/...dwill-ceo-1.3469233
Your product was given to you, for free. How could you NOT make money?? [Sgt Teacup, Mar 19 2019]
Somewhat baked but not enough to work?
https://www.theguar...ss-payments-britain
I believe the idea to have it fund a specific EBT card that can't be used for booze or drugs isn't included yet. Correct me if I'm wrong. [doctorremulac3, Mar 21 2019]
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//Coins are dead, and I haven't carried cash for years// |
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Conversely, I haven't carried cards for years, not since it
became difficult to get a non-contactless payment card,
card
fraud is just too easy with those for my tastes. |
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With cash they
only have access to what's in my pocket, with one of those
they've got the entire contents of my account if they're
quick,
they don't even need to be clever. |
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I don't even like chip & pin for the same reasons, if it
doesn't require a signature to use I don't want it.. at least
with a signature you can turn around to the bank &
say "that's not my signature", with a pin what can you say
"that's not my number" ? good luck with that. |
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There's also the issue of "a night out on the town", take
cash & when you're done you're done, take a card & there's
a (not insignificant, in my case anyway) chance (once
you've got a little bit "happy") that you won't be done until
your bank accounts empty. |
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Can be attached to the side of a roomy cardboard box, for 'working from home(less)'. Must be easily attachable to/detachable from a tent, friend's couch, van or car window. Part of a larger suite of swag for The Homeless, of which we have exponentially growing numbers, here in northern North America. I imagine the problem's worse in milder climes. |
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Regarding the link, wireless pay options aren't new,
but I would add something to this idea. |
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Also I think the $1 limit is important, if you see the
Red Cross or Goodwill logo there's the comfort that
they, not the homeless person is taking care of the
transaction, but there's also a one dollar limit. If
you wish to give more, you can swipe several
transactions. |
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I think the convenience would end up getting more
money to the person on the street. |
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Of course there's the added "bonus" of being able
to track the person, something that every high
tech biz wiz here in Silicon Valley seems to think
should be at the core of every new high tech
venture. |
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//card fraud is just too easy with those for my tastes// You
can make your card non-contactless - you just need to break
the wire-loop antenna that lies near the edge of the card,
without damaging the chip. One of my cards used to be
contactless, but now has a crack and works only with contact. |
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^ Dang! useful to know, should have thought of that (years
ago) myself. |
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You know the other problem with this is the human
nature foible of saying "Rather than spending
money on this why not buy the person a house?" |
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I'm not saying that's a legitimate criticism, it's the
"If you can't make it perfect, don't do anything."
mindset but let's be honest, people that do this
sort of thing want to be given credit for being
humanitarians and it could be looked at as cynical
or something. I don't agree with that but I'm just
saying. |
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Shouldn't be dogging my own idea though. Just
part of me is thinking "Hey, why not do this?". I
mean if there's a process that's already happening,
namely needy people begging for money, why not
make it more efficient for everybody involved?
Who would complain except professional, virtue
signaling complainers who won't be satisfied with
any solution anyway. |
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Apple might even donate their cut whatever it is. |
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in my city there are these information boards for a local homeless charity and you can tap your card to donate £2. |
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Sort of misses the point of giving it directly to the
guy on the street though. What cut does the
charity
get? |
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I'd do the homeless guy direct pay, I wouldn't do
the
other charity thing myself. |
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I had a bad experience with a charity I formerly
gave to regularly. I don't even need to tell the
story, you know what happened. News story about
misappropriation of funds, yadda yadda. |
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//What cut does the charity get? // |
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Over here, if you donate to a charity, the charity can claim
the tax on your donation. So, if you give £10, the charity gets
£12 (or something - I think they calculate it for a tax rate of
20%). So, in many cases, giving through a charity will get
more money to those in need than giving directly. |
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Interesting. I haven't heard of it working that way here, but
I have heard that more good can be achieved by donating to
homeless charities than by giving money directly to
homeless people, I think because they can use the money
more
efficiently (economies of scale, buying stuff when it's cheap
rather than buying it urgently, etc.). |
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A quick Google tells me that in the UK, GiftAid adds 20% (the
basic tax rate) to your donation. In the US, instead, the tax
benefit goes to the donor: if you donate to a registered
charity, you don't pay income tax on the donated amount. |
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Pretty sure that's how it works in Canada too. Registered
charities give tax receipts for donations and you can claim
that against your income tax. |
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//if you donate to a registered charity, you don't
pay income tax on the donated amount.// |
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That's correct and good point. |
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The sign would make it clear that this is tax
deductible, another reason to have Goodwill or
another charity organization manage the money. |
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As far as having something that cost a few dozen
dollars out there on the street without any
guarantee it will be maintained or not lost, there's
this new thing they're doing where they have stuff
that's just not particularly sellable just left out on
the street that you can rent, scooters and bikes
being the thing I'm seeing all over. These shouldn't
be worth stealing since it's worthless without the
obviously indigent person and the sign. |
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Call the company "Small Change For Change"? "Care
To Spare"? "Care 2 Spare"? |
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I'm with [Skewed] on the 'cash only' trip (see link re: untrustworthy charity). If you can't trust Goodwill (it's right in the name!), who/what can you trust? Disappointing. |
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Hard to not be cynical. Pretty safe bet that many
organizations should have
their names inverted. |
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Just like many legislative bills… maybe we need a law saying
everything must be accurately named. It would make
Confucius happy, at least. |
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// I've had to take horrible, humiliating jobs in the past, anything that was available so I no sympathy for anybody not willing to do what I did to survive at certain times in my life. // |
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The idea that a job is available for anyone who wants one could not be more wrong. |
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Yea, thanks for the virtue signalling but before we award
you with the super humanitarian holier than thou crown
you'll have to show me how hard it is to get a job here in
silicon valley doing anything. Research, checking job
listings, that sort of thing.
I live here and I've never gone more than a day or two
without a job. They weren't hard to get, they just paid
crap. Most likely not as much as you'd get begging on the
street, which is why I made that comment. I'm sure the
situation in Bangladesh is different than here in Silicon
Valley, but I'm talking about the situation where I live. |
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One time I opened the paper and joined the other people
who showed up to clear brush from over grown areas.
Landscape stuff, lawn mowing, delivery driver. I could
have gotten a sign but I wouldn't do it. I've been without
money but I've never been poor. Just broke. |
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But if we're virtue signalling, I just bought a woman on
the street a nice sandwich the
other day. Now being honest, what's the last time YOU
actually helped a homeless person? |
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Or does this scolding count? |
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I've literally starved before when I couldn't get a job. And believe me I was looking hard. I'm not virtue signalling, I'm trying to push a little humility and compassion past that thick, thick skull you're wielding. |
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//I'm trying to push a little humility and
compassion past that thick, thick skull you're
wielding.// |
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So you haven't shown any kindness and compassion
to a homeless person recently but you'll insult
somebody who has? |
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Guess that's what virtue signaling is all about. It's
not about caring for your fellow human beings who
may be worse off than you, screw them right? It's
about insulting those "other guys" who aren't as
good as you. |
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So I'll ask again, if you're the one to instill kindness
and compassion into my thick, thick skull, who are
you to do so? What have you done recently to help
a homeless person? |
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Tell you what, really want to get to me? Next time you
see somebody on the street, buy them some food. That's
what I do. Lots of these people have addiction or mental
health issues and I don't want to facilitate their buying
something that's not going to help that situation. |
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Hand them that sandwich, burger, whatever and say "Take
that doctorremulac3 you thick skulled bastard!". |
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Also see change to the idea. The card should be similar to
those cards that are used for general assistance. You can
buy food but not booze and they WOULD NOT be given
cash that some might use to buy drugs that would make
their situation worse. |
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Confused. How will a homeless person collect the money? Where do they
charge a cell phone? How do they pay for cell phone service? How do you
keep dew and dirt out of the phone and keep it safe from the rats (human
rats) who prey on the homeless? |
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Assuming no cell, you can get an account via a library computer, then
spend the money on sites that accept apple pay, but what address do you
use for delivery? The Amazon Prime Now service featured in the trending
video is only available in a few cities, and any delivery would require the
homeless person to remain at the address during the entire delivery
window. |
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I can tell you from experience, loitering laws make that difficult. If you
stand and blend in, you are "probably selling drugs" and if you sit, or god
forbid, lie down, you are... well, you are trash. Most places where you can
stay for any length (parks, overpasses, alleys, etc... don't have an address.
An empty lot would work, but the problem there is other homeless people.
Most lots have a bunch. You get a delivery; the rats will be on you in no
time. A friendly house or store owner is your only hope, and finding anyone
willing to take the hit of being seen around you is very difficult. |
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A charity could be set up to take apple pay and give out cash (assuming
that doesn't violate TOS or laws) but then you are attracting rats to run the
charity. Don't get me started on that. |
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Better idea: Use your apple pay at the nearest store to buy something and
hand it to the homeless person. No matter what it is, it can be traded or
used. |
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//How will a homeless person collect the money?// |
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No money, that could cause problems. The idea is
donations would go directly to an EBT (electronic benefits
transfer) style wireless transaction device that can't be
used for booze or drugs. |
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//Where do they charge a cell phone?// |
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No cellphone, just a dedicated reader that's battery
powered. When the person takes it to the place that's
equipped to sell food by reading these the status could be
checked and batteries replaced, unit swapped as
necessary by the participating retailer. |
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//How do you keep dew and dirt out of the phone and
keep it safe from the rats (human rats) who prey on the
homeless?// |
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It's waterproof, and as far as thieves, the unit would only
be carrying virtual food credit, not really worth stealing. |
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//what address do you use for delivery?// |
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Participating locations hand them out. |
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//Better idea: Use your apple pay at the nearest store to
buy something and hand it to the homeless person.// |
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Well, that's what I do, but with this idea the person can
chose the food they want. I just grab the first thing in the
deli section that looks edible along with whatever else I'm
there to buy. Do they like it? Don't know,
they might toss it as soon as I walk away. Also, they only
get something if I'm going in there anyway, I've never
made a special trip. |
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Actually there was one homeless person, a very decrepit
old lady me and my girlfriend at the time made dinner for
when I was a kid living in very ramshackle house. I said
she could sleep in the living room till the weather got
better and we could find her a warm place to stay,
homeless shelter or something, but she just ate dinner
and left. |
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Never told anybody that story before. Makes me look
awfully kind and virtuous (and stupid) but that's the young
me, not me now. I wouldn't let anybody into my front
yard
much less my house now.
Just being honest. |
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It's ironic that you talk about virtue signalling whilst demanding I signal my virtue. I shan't play that game. You can think me a tight fisted miser and kicker of puppies as much as you like. |
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