War On The Poor, Madrid Style

Our beloved mayor has just announced that he's banning sandwich boards. You know, those old-style boards strapped to people's fronts and backs, making a walking advertisement for a restaurant or nightclub. There aren't very many of those guys in Madrid, but apparantly the rich who run the city don't want them around. They also want to ban the people who stand on sidewalks handing out fliers for English courses, computer repair, all-you-can-eat lunch buffets, etc.

Why? These people don't bother me, and I've never heard anyone complaining about them. These are terrible jobs that pay crap, and the people who do them obviously have no other choice. Many are immigrants who are probably doing this to get grocery money until something better comes along. Why persecute people for being poor and powerless? Aren't there more important issues facing madrileños such as domestic violence, pollution, and traffic congestion? Why doesn't the mayor tackle those?

Oh wait, silly me. Because solving those problems costs money. He might have to raise taxes on the rich or something.

Some things are the same the world over.