Word of the Day: irrefragable

When I don’t get these sent out before I go to work, my whole day sorta goes blewey. I have no idea how to spell “blewey,” which is OK, since it’s onomatopoetic. Look it up. It’s good for you.

Today’s Word:

irrefragable

As in:

Under a new proposal, beggars may be given the ability to accept credit cards.

The plan, which was proposed by a number of town mayors across the nation, is to equip beggars and other homeless people with special card readers so that donations can be made with the swipe of a credit card. Eighty percent of the donation will then go to local homeless shelters and related charities, and the remaining portion will be awarded to the industrious solicitor.

“No one denies the irrefragible evidence that there is a large homeless problem in cities across this nation. City governments receive thousands of complaints each year about the number and persistence of the city’s homeless population. Ordinances are passed every year to try and control the problem. It¹s time we put the persistence of the panhandler to good use, and have a solution to the problem once and for all,” commented a spokesperson.

While it is difficult to predict how much money might be collected through the program, some estimate that there could be millions collected. If the program is especially successful, there is a discussion that the panhandlers might take charitable donations for a number of other types of charities, and might even take contributions to “bail-out” impoverished governments suffering from the pangs of the coffer-emptying recession. “When your city can no longer pay to turn on streetlights, well, maybe this sort of program starts looking really good,” noted one city leader.

Many citizens are looking forward to the plan’s implementation. Some of those most interested in the plan’s implementation are those who are unemployed, but not yet homeless. Those who’ve been employed for the longest are feeling desperate, and are considering signing up to collect donations, thinking that it could be a good job to dress as a “bum” and solicit donations.

“With 14% unemployment, and the prospect of a 20% commission, it’s really very tempting. It’s just fund raising. I did that at my last job, but, I’ve been out of work for more than a year, and haven’t been able to find anything,” says Lauren Graf. “this might fill the gaps that unemployment doesn’t cover.”

The plan is not without its detractors. Some feel that it will only encourage people to be homeless and take advantage of this lucrative business opportunity. “Yeah, I’d say this was an incentive to be homeless,” said one man. “Those bums will never get off the street now.”

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There actually was such a proposal in San Francisco about a decade ago. Maybe it would be a good thing to re-visit.

irrefragable / EAR – raa – fradge – able / that which cannot be refuted.