PolicyGuy

Monday, May 28, 2007


Does Minneapolis Import Panhandlers?
A recent article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about panhandling was notable in at least one way: both panhandlers interviewed for the story arrived from out of state.

"Tia Boxberger, 26, ... came to Minneapolis about a week ago from Portland, Ore.

'I'm not trying to hurt anybody,' said Boxberger, standing with others holding signs near Lake Street and Hennepin. 'We're trying to eat, maybe get some cigarettes. And stay away from the cops.'"


Further in the article, we read of Boxberger's "colleague" (yes, that's the word from the article; just like the office) who at 22 moved from Omaha.

To use a cliche from journalism, find a third person and you will have a trend.

The city may enact a law against "aggressive panhandling."

Of course, there are critics of the law. One says ""I think we're all on the same page that we want to see panhandling end. We have to figure out what's the best way to get there by doing a lot of things and being absolutely sure we're not penalizing people for being homeless."

If those two individuals mentioned in the article really are part of a trend, the homeless are certainly not being penalized in Minneapolis, at least in comparison with other locations.

"Justice Louis D. Brandeis'?s metaphor of the states as "laboratories" for policy experiments ... had almost nothing to do with federalism and everything to do with his commitment to scientific socialism. .... To this day, it continues to inhibit a truly experimental, federalist politics." -- Michael S. Greve

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