While I'd clearly be wrong to state that there are no such people, I think it's important to note that even most people with the signs asking for money aren't d

While I'd clearly be wrong to state that there are no such people, I think it's important to note that even most people with the signs asking for money aren't doing so by choice. Once you're in a state where you really do need to beg for money for basic sustenance as such (which can happen surprisingly easily through no real fault of your own), it's really, really hard to get out, no matter how hard you try. And, in the meantime, while you are working to get out of it, you have to do something to live. There is some (insufficient, at least in the US) help available from government programs and whatnot, but even non-participation in such things is not always necessarily by choice. I've known a fair number of people who've worked their way out of poverty (my family among them), and I've known a larger number who have failed to do so by no real fault of their own. Your unkind generalisations are most definitely unwelcome.