Leisure suit

Beggars are not rousted by police and run out of town in this country today. They don't go to the poorhouse. They don't go to jail. They go to court!

 A class-action lawsuit that alleged that Indianapolis police were violating the rights of panhandlers has been squashed.

[. . .]

A group of four men claimed police shouldn't be able to prohibit them from asking for money on the street.

The men were seeking class-action status for all of the city's panhandlers, but the judge said the group didn't prove it had enough support for such a lawsuit.

Not enough panhandlers for a class-action suit -- Indianapolis should be grateful for small favors. But those four got their case heard, a sign of how civilized we've become. Any more civilized, and our cities would be unlivable.