Wednesday 3 July 2013

Beggar’s Ban-quet?

Auckland Council commissioners have announced they intend to ban beggars.

Good luck with that.

I’d like to ban stupidity, but apparently council commissioners insist on incubating it. Because there’s as much chance of “banning beggars” as there is of eradicating stupidity from council offices.

Sure, launch a dragnet to clear beggars from the streets. They’ll just go to other streets. And how would the dragnet operate? By manhandling anyone with a collection bucket into the back of a paddy wagon, and then fining them into resistance? Or throwing them into jail?

But don’t beggars have a right to try to live as well? Don’t they have a right to walk the streets too?

Opponents are right to call this fascist. They’d be just as accurate to call it ridiculous. The proposal is as overbearing as it is unworkable—which means it’s almost certain to be introduced.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

But don’t beggars have a right to try to live as well? Don’t they have a right to walk the streets too?


of course not. that's common sense.

By manhandling anyone with a collection bucket into the back of a paddy wagon, and then fining them into resistance?

the most effective response (Brazilia etc) is just to shoot 'em.

Frankly, us <5% of people with true nett worth - whose taxes pay for all the rest including those beggars - certainly do not deserve to have beggars, bludgers, or scroungers clogging up our streets and gutters.

Anonymous said...

anon, you are heartless and mean, as is the banning proposal.
Just because you are sitting pretty. No feeling at all for the plight of those less fortunate than you, as with the chardonnay socialists and over-paid councillors.

'Except for the grace of God, there go I'.

James Gray said...

I somehow doubt that 5% of society provides all of its productive capacity...

Judge Holden said...

It's nowhere near 5%. It's really just Hank, John, Dagny and the pirate guy. Everyone else is expendable. People should be able to beg all they want, but in a truly objecto-libbo society it wouldn't do them any good, right chaps?