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John Stossel Pretends To Be A Homeless Beggar To 'Prove' What A Cushy Life It Is

Posted by Ellen -7859.80pc on November 22, 2013 · Flag

John Stossel helped further Fox News' war on the poor yesterday when he reported back from his experiment pretending to be a homeless beggar. Based on an hour's effort, Stossel concluded he'd earn $90 a day or $23,000 a year. "Tax free," Stossel added. While I'm sure Stossel would not feel like that was such a terrific amount of money if he had to actually live on $23,000 a year (tax free or not), he and the Curvy Couch Scrooges on Fox & Friends did their best to persuade their viewers that giving money to the homeless only enables their drug and alcohol abuse.

Scott Keyes at Think Progress has a great write up of this segment, including a breakdown of the many falsehoods and false assumptions about the homeless. Then Keyes says:

Chastising beggars is an annual tradition for Stossel: Pretending to be poor and homeless is becoming an annual tradition for Stossel. Here’s his 2011 segment, his 2012 segment, and now his 2013 segment. Some journalists use their perch to give voice to the voiceless. Stossel’s hobby horse, on the other hand, is apparently to convince Fox viewers that poor people are too well off.

Privilege: “I felt foolish and uncomfortable,” Stossel said of the experience, right after imploring viewers not to give poor people the dignity of believing they are actually poor instead of drunks, addicts, or scammers. Watching four wealthy white people sit in a New York television studio and banter about the evils of giving money to homeless people is like waking up the day after your 21st birthday: it’s not surprising, but still painful.

Only Stossel would be capable of benefiting from people’s generosity, and then deciding that they were rubes with too much holiday spirit and we should really all be grinches who are suspicious of one another. War on Christmas, indeed.

At the end of the segment, Stossel announced that while his hour's take wasn't really much, it was still more than minimum wage. And, no he didn't mean it as proof that minimum wage is too low, but that begging is just too profitable.

I guess if homeless people really want money, they should sell a kidney.

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Peter Lynch commented 2013-11-23 02:50:55 -0500 · Flag
He doesn’t always win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrX9Ca7LSyQ
mj - the same one commented 2013-11-22 22:02:33 -0500 · Flag
FOX NEWS:

Rich people paying rich people to tell middle class people to blame poor people

.
Aria Prescott commented 2013-11-22 18:47:57 -0500 · Flag
Starnes does soething like this every year, but usually he does it in December, Laurajane. He’s early this year, but it’s still disgusting.
LauraJane commented 2013-11-22 17:15:32 -0500 · Flag
If I remember correctly, that piece ran a coupe of years ago. This was not new although they acted like it was. I thought as soon as the first frame came on that this was just a repeat. Doesn’t anyone else remember this?
Aria Prescott commented 2013-11-22 15:00:20 -0500 · Flag
Thx, you took the words out of my mouth- Stossel did nothing more than go out and panhandle for an hour, while pretending to be a homeless man. Putting aside how many types of fraud that is, he didn’t have to spend one second sleeping on the streets, defending his earnings from another bum, using a soup kitchen or the free clinic…

No, he just did the part that would wrangle him money and said “See? Being homeless is secretly awesome, because all you do is sit around begging and doing drugs!”

I’d call him a pile of dog shit, but then I’d have to apologize to the next pile I saw after some lazy owner decides he’s above the scooping laws.
Antoinette commented 2013-11-22 14:52:21 -0500 · Flag
Fossil Stossel pretends to be homeless. The way karma plays out that could be his new life down the road.

He lives the good life and has a very nice home, just like Hannocchio.

The Fossil has full benefits through News Corporation including paid health, paid holidays, paid vacations, paid sick, personal day off, 401K, discounts on News Corporation-related merchandise or services, etc. This clown has access to News Corps. gym inside this hideous skyscraper. This gym has state-of-art-equipment, and News Corps. employees can use it for a nominal fee.

The Fossil earns enough to pay all of his house utilities, gas, insurance and repairs for his car, and groceries, and still has money left over.

The Fossil lives better than most struggling, working class Americans, and he has the nerve to mock them.

NOTE TO STOSSEL

We hope your next book is a major flop. Your books are worthless, just like you.
Richard Santalone commented 2013-11-22 13:53:26 -0500 · Flag
@ zaglossus Hmmmmmmm, I wonder if, by chance, John Stossel lives in a VERY POSH waterfront mansion that’s protected by private security forces 24/7/365 like his colleague Sean KKKlannity? If so, how much do you want to bet that if (heaven forbid) his home is devastated or wiped out by a violent storm (remember Superstorm Sandy?), HE’LL COME CRYING AND BELLYACHING WITH HIS HAND OUT TO FEMA IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS?
doors17 commented 2013-11-22 11:08:09 -0500 · Flag
I want to play pretend. I’ll be a CEO and outsource their jobs for cheap labor and then give myself a nice juicy bonus so I can keep my mistress happy. Then hide behind the words, it’s good for the company while I act like I really do deserve and earned my millions with my amazing talents and skills.
truman commented 2013-11-22 11:08:07 -0500 · Flag
Stossel’s annual shtick of denigrating the poor and homeless is particularly mean-spirited at this time of year.
Thx4 Fish commented 2013-11-22 10:28:59 -0500 · Flag
So for one hour Stossel pretended to be homeless. He didn’t eat in a shelter or sleep on the street. He didn’t try to get medical or psychiatric care from the VA or an emergency room. The only part of homelessness that interests Stossel is “How much money do they earn?” Pig is too generous a word for this man.
Kent Brockman commented 2013-11-22 10:12:45 -0500 · Flag
Fux Nuzies say:
Let’s Hate!
NewsHounds posted about John Stossel Pretends To Be A Homeless Beggar To 'Prove' What A Cushy Life It Is on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2013-11-22 10:00:11 -0500
How Fox News grinches try to steal Christmas: homeless beggar edition
Jan Hall commented 2013-11-22 09:15:11 -0500 · Flag
Perhaps some good can come from this Ellen. Stossel may convince Fox viewers that donating money to Republican Congressmen only enables their Cocaine and alcohol abuse. Just a thought.








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