Amsterdam Charity Group Paying Alcoholics In Beеr To Clean

Have you ever thought about becoming an alcoholic? Well in Amsterdam, it could be as easy as cleaning local parks.

Residents actually smile at these alcoholics in orange uniform jackets, opposed to hating them for being lazy drunks in local parks. The whole idea is run locally in Amsterdam by the Rainbow Foundation.

So how exactly does it work?

The former public nuisances start off the working day with two cans of beer each at 9 a.m. and walk out into the park and the adjoining streets with their garbage bags. They have another two beers at lunch and one more when they're done at 3:30 p.m. Apart from the beer, the day's wages amount to 10 euros ($13.69).

That doesn't seem like a high pay, but look at it like this: a can of beer cost as little as 40 cents here in the states. According to Bloomberg Report, these men earn less than $20 per six-hour day. The national minimum wage for Amsterdam is at about $11.60 per hour. As you can see, unless you love beer, this job doesn't pay well. The best part, no one in this town is complaining. Here's their logic:

The beer is the alcoholics' fuel, and some of them even say they are drinking less because, for the first time in years, they have some structure to their day. "

Bravo!