If I may answer a question with a question please

In response to butterfly who asked "why do jamaicans find it so easy to beg?"

With the minimum wage only moving this year from $4,070 to $4,500 for a 40-hour work week.(In the case of industrial security guards, the minimum wage increased from $6,050 to $6,655 for a 40-hour work week.)

Bear in mind some of the Jamaican workforce could be ( and a lot are ) one parent families and sometimes (most times) through no fault of their own.
Those who are lucky enough to find a job may find it takes 2-3 hours to get to work and then the same home again.
Sometimes this is a 4 cab journey (2 each way)
They need to pay rent for their home from this wage so what properties back home can you rent/buy for a similar amount? As charges out there are pretty comparable to places such as U.S.A or U.K
How much do you think is left over to feed their family?
If you see any of the online menus for Negril as an example 4500ja will buy you probably 3 pizzas
so imagine having 3 children and you buy them a pizza each> JUST ONE> just one pizza> one day in a whole week. That's it you have no rent money/ no gas/ no fare to work /no food for the week/NOTHING. You're screwed for just wanting to give your child just one little pizza and children in Jamaica want treats (if food should even be considered a treat) just as any other child in the world does and it upsets me to think that a hardworking mother or father working 40 hrs a week has to face dilemmas like this EVERY single day-pay the rent vs treat/feed the kids
walk 2-3 hrs to work and back again to save 500j for an extra bag of rice and veg? Or get a cab and go a bit hungrier one or two nights?
So my question is NOT why do they find it so easy to beg? BUT WHY are they begging? and is there anyway any of us can help stop the need to beg?
and also:
If you were the head of the household that I just described what would you do?
be honest
Because when you have children and you see them hungry I am pretty sure we will all beg if we have to.
I can honestly say if I knew I was going home to a hungry house full after working my butt off for 40 hrs for THAT measly amount SURE as hell I would walk the beach on my way home and "beg" and try to top up my wage somehow anyhow knowing that I will walk past thousands of tourists with thousands of dollars spare.
Personally I would probably not outright beg for it I would offer something in return (professional- respectful and legal may I add!)but so do many of the people in Negril.
I guess begging to 5 tourists and getting 100ja from each of them means no 6 hr (3 there 3 back) blistering feet + swollen ankles walk to work the next day Yippee!
Darned right I would be on that beach
WOULDN'T YOU?
Some are working full time and growing most of their own food and still do not have enough left to live with basic needs being met.
This is a major problem that the government can and should address,But in the meantime all we average run of the mill tourists can do who have no voice in Jamaicas cabinet
is to each one help one and hope for the best.
Jamaica is a very small island compared to many countries that a lot of us here are from so if each person visiting the island helped one person living on the island then the island would be truly paradise with no reason or a need for a person to beg.
There is a saying "if you don't ask -you don't get"
So if you are hungry or broke and no money then I guess begging becomes an option.We are all born into different standards of living, some rich , some financially poor what one may think as an annoying bugaboo of society, begging and in ones way of a sunset view, another persons heart may go out to that person and find a genuine need they may be able to help with and some of these "beggars" do not always need cash. Some need a friend one who listens. Some people can help immensely without having to give 1 dollar if only they tried while others may fob them off as annoying beggars.
It is all down to what is inside yourself.
So please remember (everyone) that if all of us (tourists) just helped ONE person down there it could be a much better place
and remember it is very easy to lose everything you have in just one moment.Even if you are a billionaire 1 stroke of bad luck/hard times you lose it so then you will rely on other peoples kindheartedness something a lot of people forget to have once they have money.
One of the reasons why I love Jamaicans is that even when they have NOTHING they will try to help you if they can and also keep you smiling while they are at it.
Quite simply they find it easy to beg I imagine because they have needs that are not being met, even basic needs most times (Maslows theory) My theory is=Rubbish wage-can't pay rent-hungry-kids to feed=beg a little to get by.
Who are we to judge?That could be me or you out there never say never.