Mangy, P.I.

I love the show Magnum, P.I. For the most part, I think this stems from the fact that I'd really like to have Thomas Magnum's life. Think about it...free mansion in Hawaii, free Ferrari, unlimited babes, free drinks at Rick's club, and all kinds of shenanigans with TC, Rick, and Higgins. But now, homeless people are trying to take the sweet life in Hawaii.

An eccentric Japanese billionaire decided to give eight of his mansions to homeless families for ten years, rent free. These families were even given a thousand bucks to move their limited to nonexistent belongings from the cardboard box to the five million dollar-plus estates. The benefactor claims that this is a much more effective solution to homelessness than "handing out wads of cash." I disagree. If the billionaire had donated the rental income from the mansions to a worthwhile, organized charity, it could have funded shelters, educational programs, and resources to transition the homeless to real life. Instead, ten rent-free years in a mansion will only give these familie unrealistic expectations, teach them nothing about saving, and allow all of their homeless homies to run roughshod over the neighborhood. Not to mention, if I lived next door, I would throw a NIMBY shitfit.

Maybe I come off sounding like a bit of an elitist in this post, but I cling to the belief that you have to earn something to deserve it. I'm convinved that I would have done alot more good with the mansion had it been donated to me for ten years. How did I earn it? Uh, I owe you no explanation, but trust me dudes, I deserve it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070323/ap_on_re_us/homeless_mansions