Brother Can You Spare a Dime?

In January 2007 (after advanced warning), it became mandatory to carry a passport to travel between Canada and the USA. This means that for thousands of short-sighted Canadians, January was time to renew your old, expired passport. There are two options for passport renewal, stand in line in a government building or mail it in.Normally, either method results in a 2 week wait. When half the country is all renewing at once, its about 3 months. So everyone who has travel plans in the next couple of months to the US, and has no passport, is screwed. Not only that, but the normally hour-long or so lineup at the government building (i.e. the wait in order to begin waiting several months) is now days. At one point in Calgary, there were 1200 people in line, and they process 300 per day.

Meanwhile...elsewhere in Calgary, I get asked for change every few feet, or my car window squeegeed without solicitation. This booming economy is bringing with it many homeless - and its pretty cold out these days. How is this relevant?

I have a proposal for the city's homeless. Go stand in line for a passport application, and then sell your spot. My time is not as valuable as many peoples', but that does not mean that I like lineups. I avoid them at all costs. There is a reason I go for lunch at 11:00. For a lineup of that magnitude, I would pay good money for a spot in line. I would pay 5 bucks for a long bank line, who knows what the market would command for a day long passport line?

Lineups are everywhere, and many people despise them. If I were homeless, I would go stand in line all over the city. Banks. Government buildings. Ticketmaster. Social Security in the States. My little sign would indicate that my spot was for sale. Let the negotiations begin.

Plus in this cold you get to wait inside, not to mention bring a value-add service to society.