Live from Austin!

Interesting stats from a study of panhandlers:

• Average income $300/month from begging + $200/month from “other sources”
• Average alcohol/drug expenditure per month $80
• Average tobacco spending per month $112
• A quarter of those surveyed spend $600/month or more on drugs

This morning I saw a fat, bearded homeless man with a shopping cart full of bundles of I-don’t-know-what tied inside plastic bags. He was leaning over a trash can—reading a discarded copy of the Wall Street Journal intently.

Checking his Enron stock, perhaps?