Walking down the street a few minutes ago and passing by multiple beggars prompted me to question the future of beggars and methods of receiving money from passerbys. Eventually physical cash will be nonexistent and all transactions will be card-based. The world is already halfway to achieving this. The lack of on-hand cash is going to substantially affect the methods in which a beggar can receive money. How can someone beg for change if nobody carries change? Will beggars be equipped with debit card swiping machines in order to receive a charitable donation from a passer-by?
I must say, beggars in the 80’s were probably much better off than beggars in this decade. Everything was cash centric, and people were more likely to have spare change on them back in the day. I guess beggars will need to find a new hobby.
You must be right, Jim, about times being better for beggars in the eighties rather than the present. That claim does make we wonder how beggars cope with their day to day begging prospects in today’s cashless society. My apartment overlooks the dumpster that services my building. I find that it is normal for the dumpster to be visited by at least three of four groups of homeless people each day. They rummage through the dumpster looking for recyclable metals, which I assume they take somewhere for some kind of cash payment. I wonder how long that will be worthwhile for today’s homeless?