I have a great deal of sympathy for these people and it's a shame that the way zoning works it's difficult for there to be enough cheap housing built where people need it.

However, I have some questions for the NY Times:

1. What does the fact that there are people paying $13,000/month rent have anything to do with the people collecting cans?

2. They're stealing from the City, as you point out. Why isn't this wrong?

3. How much tax-free money are they earning? Combined with the benefits they're receiving from Federal Government, City, and State with this untaxed revenue stream, what's their income? How much would a person who pays taxes have to earn to net the same amount?