Editorial: The easy way out

The Statesville City Council is expected to launch a new offensive in the war on poverty when it reconvenes tonight.

City Attorney Eddie Gaines has reworked an ordinance designed to curb panhandling within the city limits. Unlike an earlier draft of the ordinance, this version will likely withstand any legal challenge on the basis that it violates constitutionally protected free speech rights, Gaines said.

The new ordinance targets what city officials have defined as "aggressive" panhandling by limiting where beggars can stand and when they can beg. If the ordinance is approved, panhandling near ATMs and banks or on the medians of major roadways will be classified as a misdemeanor.

This ordinance may pass constitutional muster, but there's absolutely no reason to believe it will solve the underlying problems - mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction - that cause men and women to stand on the streets and ask for a handout.

Putting beggars in jail for a week or fining them $50 is a lot easier than crafting sound pubic policy designed to get them off the streets and into treatment programs that address the root causes of homelessness and poverty.