Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - What happens if you give panhandlers a pre-paid credit card.

Ramsayfarian · 08-29-2010, 06:51 PM

I thought this was an interesting little experiment.

"Over the past two weeks, I wandered Toronto’s downtown core with five prepaid Visa and MasterCard gift cards, in $50 and $75 denominations, waiting for people to ask for money.

When they did, I asked them what they needed. A meal at a restaurant, groceries, a new pair of pants, they said. I handed out the cards and asked that they give them back when they’d finished shopping. I either waited at a coffee shop while they shopped or — in the case of those who could not buy what they needed nearby or were reticent about leaving their panhandling post — I said I’d return on another day to pick up the card. That’s when I would reveal that I was a journalist."

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arti...dit-cards?bn=1

08-29-2010, 06:51 PM	#1
Ramsayfarian Scoring Winger Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	What happens if you give panhandlers a pre-paid credit card. I thought this was an interesting little experiment. "Over the past two weeks, I wandered Toronto’s downtown core with five prepaid Visa and MasterCard gift cards, in $50 and $75 denominations, waiting for people to ask for money. When they did, I asked them what they needed. A meal at a restaurant, groceries, a new pair of pants, they said. I handed out the cards and asked that they give them back when they’d finished shopping. I either waited at a coffee shop while they shopped or — in the case of those who could not buy what they needed nearby or were reticent about leaving their panhandling post — I said I’d return on another day to pick up the card. That’s when I would reveal that I was a journalist." http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arti...dit-cards?bn=1