Australian Beggar Makes 50,000 Dollars A Year

Insync

oi-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, August 27, 2009, 17:07

In another of those jab in the chest news, it was found that a homeless man in Sydney earns up to 50,000 dollars a year by begging, while many of those employed are reeling under the recession pressure, and he makes an average 400 dollars a day.

The 52-year old man, makes his living at George and Market St, outside the Myer store in Sydney's CBD, where he sits for up to 16 hours daily, seven days a week says that he earns around 400 dollars from generous passer-by on a good day and even on a slow day, he manages to make anywhere between 75 and 150 dollars.

"I would be really disappointed if I did a long Friday and I only had 0," the Daily Telegraph quoted the homeless man, Ken Johnson, who has been living on the streets "since the late ''90s", as saying.

"I knock off when I feel like it, or if I've done brilliantly. But on those good days, you might be on such a high that you go for a few more hours and get a bit more money," he added.

An Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) spokeswoman said that many homeless people turned to begging because government welfare did not cover costs, and "for those who do receive income support, payments may be inadequate to meet the costs of temporary accommodation and food."

While Johnson did not reveal how much begging earned him last year, he did say that the donated money was stashed in a safe place, before being deposited in his bank account several times a week.

He said that some of the money was given to a friend. The man who does not smoke, drink, or do drugs revealed that he was raising money to help the friend who needed a liver transplant.

He displays a sign that reads: "Needing support for major family exp(enses) including just heaps for medicine. Paying up is a big grind. Please leave me alone, if you are the abusive nasty sort."

Johnson refuses to draw welfare because "it makes you feel like a cripple," he says.

The ACOSS spokeswoman also added "Of those who do sleep on the street, only a tiny minority choose to do so, as a lifestyle choice. For most people who are homeless, there is no choice."

AGENCIES