A short story that happened in Sarasota just 10 years ago. My parents had a house built in a nice area with 5-10 acre plots. The developer, a retired farmer, needed fencing throughout the development. He had the equipment and materials, but needed some temporary labor to set the posts and fencing. So he headed down to the interstate ramps and into town at high traffic intersections with a crew cab and told every one of them that had a sign saying "Will Work for Food" to hop in and he would not only feed them two hot meals but would also pay them $10/hr for the day. Given little choice, especially since he was of strong character, many did so. He had a tractor with a post hole attachment and a bucket, so most of the heaviest work was done by machine. He worked them for an 8 hour day, fed them two hearty hot meals, dropped them back off where they said they stayed and they all agreed to meet him again the next day.
Big surprise! The next day, there wasn't a single panhandler to be found in those areas. So he went down 75 to the next intersection and did the same thing. After three days, wherein he accomplished most of the work, there wasn't a single person panhandling in a 20 mile radius that he could find. Now nobody even bothers with the "Will Work for Food" signs. They've smartened up and know that somebody just might call their bluff.
