Willie Baronet used to look away when he passed panhandlers standing at freeway on-ramps and intersections. These days he moves toward panhandlers, offering to buy their signs.
Transactions usually begin with him rolling down the window of his Prius: “I say, ‘Hey man, can I buy your sign?’ Most of the time, they say, ‘Sure!’ Then I usually say, ‘How much?’ Sometimes they quote me a price, and sometimes they say ‘Hey, I’ll take whatever you give me.’” ...