Bureaucrat scuffs dream of homeless shoe shiner — Apparently SF bureaucrats comb the newspaper to find guys like this to rip off. I’d love to find out who this dipshit woman is who made this guy get a permit. No wonder nobody can get themselves out of poverty with people like her around. She probably got a commendation.
He sleeps under a bridge, washes in a public bathroom and was panhandling for booze money 11 months ago, but now Larry Moore is the best-dressed shoeshine man in the city. When he gets up from his cardboard mattress, he puts on a coat and tie. It’s a reminder of how he has turned things around.
In fact, until last week it looked like Moore was going to have saved enough money to rent a room and get off the street for the first time in six years. But then, in a breathtakingly clueless move, an official for the Department of Public Works told Moore that he has to fork over the money he saved for his first month’s rent to purchase a $491 sidewalk vendor permit.
“I had $573 ready to go,” Moore said, who needs $600 for the rent. “This tore that up. But I’ve been homeless for six years. Another six weeks isn’t going to kill me.”
The bureaucrat told Moore that she found out about his business after reading about his success in this paper.
This whole story is rich since San Francisco is crawling with beggars, panhandlers and weirdos. Heaven forbid someone want to work for a living. And why is the permit so expensive? Probably the same reason a parking meter costs 25-cents for five minutes. This city is the worst.
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SF Director of Public Works, Ed Reiskin
Liberal gov’ts specialize in keeping the impoverished down. No surprise here.
People, not liberals, tend to err on the side of stupidity! Doing things without full consideration of the context, like blaming this event on liberals because it serves a selfish/righteous agenda.
Clueless jerks. What’s wrong with a “pay as you go” plan for crud like this? Perhaps some angel will spot him the permit just to thumb their nose at the city.
SF – the land of fruits, flakes and nuts.
Yea, it is too bad that common sense can’t be legislated. Pay as you go is even too harsh here. For the truly destitute to still be working as this guy did, there should be not much more than some kind of “registration” process without fees at all, otherwise, government may get the image of being a leech more than a facilitator.
#4 I agree. Paying the gov’t to be able to make sustenance level $ is oppressive.
Heh… Get back in the soup kitchen mister your no good on your own! Freakin liberal morons enforcing poverty, business as usual.
I’m not a Californian, but in reading the daily news, it does seem California is no longer sustainable as a single state. How does large pockets of liberal culture function in an otherwise conservative state? Liberal policies do backfire. Johnson and Humphrey’s Great Society condemned several generations to perpetual poverty, and it continues today.
#3 The fruits ,fakes and nuts are in most cases are not from California but wash ins from other states. True Californians like Dvorak, I’ve found to be very down to earth and conservative.
Wow…Most liberal city in the country keeping a homeless man without means. What’s next, new taxes on everyone despite horrible economic conditions and uncertain job futures?
oh, they are?
Common sense? Last time any government anywhere in the world used that was…. uh…… hmmm…… must have been before I was born I guess.
For once I agree with BoBo but then the city wants every penny it can grab. Like I said this in no longer a good place to do business.
Paddy-O,
So, if someone has money, he should pay, but if he doesn’t, he shouldn’t? Sounds pretty damn commie to me! You better be careful, or they’re gonna get you next!
As for licensing… that’s the rule. In fact, it could be a way to ensure some rich dude doesn’t just swamp the sidewalk with homeless people shining shoes so they never get their own spot…
#12:
“As for licensing… that’s the rule. In fact, it could be a way to ensure some rich dude doesn’t just swamp the sidewalk with homeless people shining shoes so they never get their own spot…”
I love artificial scarcity! Especially when clueless bureaucrats get to decide the supply (and hence, the price.)
No thanks. A permit for shining shoes? This is absurd.
That is sad. It is stupidity (of the city officials) like this that keeps homelessness going.
Some city official needs to be tarred and feathered. If they charge event the homeless as much as the article said, no wonder businesses are fleeing the state of California.
The only solution is to pack up all the good stuff and good companies and give the state back to Mexico.
13,
I think its a permit for a business on the sidewalk.
If you sold hot dogs, would you want the city to put another 100 hot dog vendors right beside you? Maybe in front and behind so no one could get to you? Would you then hire thugs to beat back the competitors?
There is method to the madness you know. You have to think big picture.
He also forgot to purchase carbon credits to offset his carbon footprint. 🙁
#15:
“If you sold hot dogs, would you want the city to put another 100 hot dog vendors right beside you?”
No, but if I’m *buying* a hot dog, I’d like to have 100 vendors to choose from.
And maybe they’d start jazzing up their menus to differentiate. More choices = better.
17
I didn’t say choice was bad. I said that you can’t just put everything in one place. It wouldn’t serve the customer and the proprietors would start getting stabby.
#17:
Yeah, I hate all the choices and chaos in the mall food court.
I think you’re wrong.
dur. post #19 is for #18 (named)
Wow, you’ve discovered that regulations hurt the little guy.
I wonder if this lady would take any action if she saw in the newspaper an illegal immigrant discussing how he wants to get reduced tuition rates.
San Francisco is to California what California is to the United States. At total fucking embarrassment. I was born here. Let me OUT! I have three years until my pension, then it is a normal state for me. This one is completely off of the choo choo train tracks.
The arguments FOR this nonsense are STUPID. The reality is…if I were selling hot dogs, shining shoes, etc…..and were doing a great job, good customer service, good price, etc., even if there were 100 other people doing “it”….the competition would have to exceed or equal my service/quality. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be so profitable. Competition is only bad in this ‘feel good, self esteem’ driven mindset. Our country is failing because small business is overburdened with taxes, special taxes, permits, more taxes, and rules, regulations, forms, standing in line, filing more forms, paying MORE taxes, and government sticking it’s fat red nose into everything. Our government does NOT support small business..it does everything under the sun to undermine individuals endeavoring to earn money. Why? Probably because big corporate business is in BED with government, and don’t want to compete and have the bar raised regarding — customer service, quality of service, and quality of products.
We’re screwed, and most of these comments aren’t getting it. This isn’t a SF thing..it’s a COUNTRYWIDE THING. Wake up!
check out some of the salaries for these public “servants?”… un-effing believable!
http://myprops.org/content/S.F.-is-gonna-be-broke-whether-you-like-it-or-not/
# 1 Patrick,
“Liberal gov’ts specialize in keeping the impoverished down. No surprise here.”
And Conservatives specialize in dumbing down the populace to ensure the idiots vote for another Bush.
The newspaper (examiner I guess) should treat every newsworthy human interest story with equal care and detail. When is the detailed (you know name, address, phone #, Email, IP, ISP info, etc) story on old (what was your adjective?) going to be printed. After all, she is a “public” employ.
nunyac
Yeah, anarchy is the solution!
Let’s allow anyone to setup a sidewalk stand anywhere, no matter how narrow the sidewalk or how inconvenient to the pedestrians.
Let’s outlaw permits for food vendors so that there isn’t at least some minimum measure of hygene and regular inspection.
Let’s make Fisherman’s Wharf even more unvisitable by allowing any ‘clown’ to ‘perform’ in the middle of the sidewalk and hassle tourists, regardless of skill.
Heck, let’s just allow anyone to claim any piece of sidewalk as their ‘office’ and panhandle from there.
Limiting the number of ‘entreprenours’ of this type to a specific quantity and specific locations is necessary, and having them buy a permit is perfectly reasonable.
The city is willing to issue him a permit, at the same price and conditions as anyone else… if you son’t agree, how about fronting the guy the $600 and having him pay you back over a 1 year period at no interest (Yeah, I didn’t think so).
Reality Check is right…..screw this guy.
He’s relying on city services without paying for them. Sorry to slap down a Republican wet dream, but “bootstrap” stories are usually stories about people ignoring health and safety regulations that have been deemed to be necessary. He needs to apply for the help that they city offers and go through the system. there are a lot of hardworking civil servants who are waiting to help him…not that he’s paid for any of it with his unregulated, tax-dodging leeching.
I think he should be fined for operating a business without a permit and be required to pay the back sales taxes he owes.
John C (and others):
I’ll make you a deal (you know my email). You’ve got a paypal account and lots of people read your blog. I will pony up $100 to pay this guy’s stupid city fee. I challenge anyone else reading this to do the same thing.
This is a stupid fee and the bureaucrat is an idiot but I don’t care. This guy has gone 98% of the way there and I’m happy to help him with the last 2%.
I am serious about this. I’m game if anyone else is game.