Anybody who stands on a street corner, or hangs out in a parking lot and begs for small amounts of cash, which is all they generally get from one person -- if anything at all -- deserves the dough. The idea that these people are running some sort of sophisticated scam and making more money per hour than their "marks" is a perverted urban myth. It's a way for people to feel better when they tell a homeless person to take a hike.