It’s very real. Where I live I think I’ve only seen someone try to clean my windshield maybe twice. But seeing people beg on intersection corners is a very common sight. There’s whole tent cities out here. The solution? Obviously it’s to criminalize begging and post signs everywhere that say “Be part of the solution, say no to panhandlers” as if that solves anything. The ‘ol ignore it and maybe it’ll go away approach.

I also see a lot of people selling flowers, or occasionally candy apples at intersections as well.