[jordyhoyt]

While commuting back and forth to Seattle on the ferries, my dad said he heard a couple people comparing how much they'd made begging that day and it was in the $200-$300 range. They had been disappointed in the "slow" day.

[run4yourlives]

The problem with this is that it's the same as asking a bunch of people how much they make - it's always overstated.

[jordyhoyt]

Right, I don't understand the downvotes though, I was simply giving the only data point I had. Anecdotal though it is, from this, I don't see it as entirely unreasonable for someone in a larger city like NYC to make as much as my original post's grandparent suggested.

I also don't see any reason for two beggars talking amongst themselves (albeit loudly enough for others to hear) to inflate their daily income more than $100 or so, _especially_ if they're commuting (which costs ~$7/day) to do so.

[run4yourlives]

>I also don't see any reason for two beggars talking amongst themselves...to inflate their daily income

Well, the short answer is pride. The long answer would be that they do it for the same reasons that you or I would do it if we were asked our salary on a form, knowing that it would be compared, even anonymously, to others. It's the reason why HR firms basically ignore any data that asks an employee for their salary as being inaccurate.