Alcoholics Paid in Beer to Clean Streets

It's a story that is both brilliant and sad. Amsterdam is paying alcoholics in beer and tobacco to clean up their streets of trash left by drunks.

Their day starts at 9am with a couple of beers before going out to start picking up trash.

The men and women also earn about ten bucks, some tobacco, three meals through the day, and then they cap off the day with a celebratory beer  (and about five beers through the day as well)

What do you think of this idea? Are they encouraging the addiction? Is it something you could see working in the U.S.?