
Shoeshine man catches a break - and some cash - kqr2
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/05/MNVJ1817N1.DTL&tsp=1
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jrockway
The most irritating part about all this is that you need an ID card to give
the government money.

(I found it very difficult to pay my state taxes in Illinois until I got an ID
card. It should be easier to give people money which you are legally obligated
to give them.)

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cubicle67
I spent some time working in the UK. At that time it was illegal for a company
to employ you unless you have a National Insurance Number, but one of the
requirements to getting one of these numbers was having an employer. About the
only to get one was to find an employer who was willing to let you work
without a number on the understanding that you would then get one pretty quick
(which of course then requires taking a full day off work, or two in my case)

Note: This was my experience in the late 90's. May be different now.

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jasonlbaptiste
This is a great story. Even though SF screwed up in the beginning, I'm glad
they handled it well.

We do need more citizens like this. Times get tough, and for some a hell of a
lot tougher. The thing is, he had the resolve to get off the booze and try to
make something happen. Not trying to sound all sappy, but this should be a
motivating story for a lot of homeless people.

~~~
mattchew
_Even though SF screwed up in the beginning, I'm glad they handled it well._

By "it", do you mean the splash of bad press that they weren't expecting to
get? They totally turned that around, very slick of them.

I didn't read anything about them doing anything to prevent the next guy from
getting hassled for a license fee he can't pay, though.

~~~
iron_ball
As I read the article, that was my first thought. The fate of one man is
extremely significant to him; but it must be viewed in context. If his
misfortune was exceptional, and the remedy a rapid return to form, then this
story is reassuring; but that is not the case. Instead, his misfortune was
commonplace, yet the remedy applied only to him, leaving untold others
calcified in their situation.

In that case, his story is a meaningless aberration.

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kqr2
Followup to:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=642677>

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wallflower
I believe there is a lot of startup lessons here. Larry started up from very
little (bootstrap), built a devoted customer base who want him to succeed.

And, it really seems to make a difference that he dresses up in a shirt and
tie.

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joel_feather
This is the shoeshiner version of getting an iPhone App Store Rejection
letter.

~~~
gcheong
Not quite, because at least the city official told the guy what he needed in
order to sell his services.

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mikeryan
It's funny to see this here, just last evening as I picked up my wife, she
told me this story as we drove by him.

~~~
jzachary
Did you stop to get your shoes shined?

