A New York magazine called City Journal had a great article recently entitled The Professional Panhandling Plague, discussing how many cities are seeing professional panhandlers on the street in increasing numbers – people who are not homeless and who beg for money as a way of life. Memphis is mentioned as one of the cities in which professional panhandlers thrive, and the author discusses the Handling-Panhandling forum among other ideas cities are using to thwart the panhandlers.
Check it out. It’s an excellent read.