The Beggars Paradox

And most of the times, they do no beg for your money because they have to, but because they can have income on par or even beyond the average jakarta middle class which usually stands around US$300-400 per months.

Many of them, by simply sitting on a sidewalk, chanting gibberishs, and with open hat laying in front of them, can reap US$ 30 daily from 300 people that feels pity for them. That accounts for US$ 900 monthly if they beg non-stop in a month. Hard-working car salesmen would envy them if they know.

Many of the beggars choose this sun-burnt, dust-choking, and dirty-looking professions simply out of laziness: why bother cruising through the crazy jakarta streets every morning if they can have the same or better income simply by begging from cars to cars or just sitting and sleeping on the sidewalk.

Some of the most shameless beggars, using sun-glasses and walking sticks to give illusions that they are blind, wear nice shirts and pants, and have a fat, prosperous body, would simply stand on a crossing bridge, holding up tin cans or open hats and will have people pouring money on them.

Some others, mostly women in veils, carry wailing babies and do the sit-and-wait tricks. They carry babies to add pitifulness to the their whole situations as people would simply feel pity for the babies and will not go reluctant to give some cash to the women carrying the babies.

Shameless and willing to brace the elementals, but generally lazy and lying to people, beggars are one of jakarta paradox: simbolizing the poverty, but many of them are richer than the people working on high-rise towers of glasses