It has long been argued that vice should be regulated. The rationale is that if government taxation, restrictions, and hoops can force industrialists overseas, it should have the same effect on activities like drug dealing.
Winston-Salem recently passed an ordinance requiring panhandlers to possess a permit. Permits are free, they take a few days to process, and one must present a photo ID to obtain one. Now, it seems a honest person may resort to panhandling because, for example, their purse – with cell phone, money, car keys, and driver’s license – was stolen and they need to bum some change for a phone call. Or, maybe a passer-through met with expensive unforeseeable circumstances and ran out of ideas for how to get home. Those in dire straits would have to break the law, but those who want to panhandle recreationally are cool as long as they obtain a permit.
