Great stuff! It was really encouraging to see that *most* of the respondants had positive things to say about buskers.

I would prefer not to see licensing become mandatory; as one of the active buskers in the poll said, spontaneity is an important aspect of the whole experience, for listeners as well as for the performers.

It was interesting to see that most of the sourpuss naysayers specifically mentioned their resentment that busking income usually escapes taxation. I say, that's a good thing! Independent ventures like this one require no help from any government, take nothing from anyone except voluntary contributions, and do not need to turn over any part of their modest proceeds to The Man.

The image one gentleman complains about, of a busker reporting to work in an expensive sports car, means nothing. Sounds like BS to me, like Ronald Reagan's mythical Cadillac-driving "welfare queen." If it is in fact true that a street musician was observed driving such a vehicle, you can be sure that he bought it with money obtained in some other manner than busking (either inheritance or a good day job).

Only one responding busker admitted that his activity was a great way to meet girls. In my (long-ago) experience, that was really a *main* feature of the "job." For me, the money never got any better than subsistence-level, but the, er, social opportunites were unprecedented. When I got married, I absolutely had to quit the streets.