Austin Street Scene : 'CAPITALISM SUX!'

Sign of the times. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Now that hard times are back, I regard this fellow as a reminder that there are smart guys at the bottom who know the score.

By Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / September 10, 2009

One thing that most drivers here are familiar with is the car beggars who frequent the major intersections in Austin, a fairly tolerant city. I see the homeless regulars and some social help ministries. Even firefighters collecting with their boots. Now and then a squeegee windshield washer. The old vets, grandmothers, crippled beggars missing limbs. More women car beggars. I see sad little shelters under freeways that come and go. Occasionally I see the homeless paper peddled at intersections. I see few if any flower vendors that were familiar in years past.

This fellow at 32nd and the southbound frontage road at the IH 35 freeway stood out for sure. So I circled around snapped his picture from the car and gave him a few bucks for his brave message of honesty and class consciousness. You might want to slip him a little change if you see him. Now that hard times are back, I regard this fellow as a reminder that there are smart guys at the bottom who know the score. A reminder that we're all in the same boat and need to work for social justice and a safety net as poverty and homelessness increase.

Want the latest details on increasing poverty? Go here.

Want to know who has been getting most of the gravy? Go here.

The Rag Blog