Why I'm considering giving to beggars.

Lots of beggars use drugs to cope with the fact that they have no homes. Shelters are disgusting, in most cities, generally. If you don't believe that, watch the documentary Streets of Plenty, or visit a few. Sure, there are a couple nice ones here and there, but most are lurid.

With that said, I will give a beggar money and do not care if they use it to buy drugs and alcohol. The only reason I wouldn't give a beggar money is if they were the confrontational type that runs after you or ambushes you as you open your car door. That is an instant no.

Finally, a great reason to give a beggar money is that many times charities can't be trusted either. If you give the beggar money, you know you are going direct. Cut out the middle man. Comedian Steve Hughes said it best here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpUwBJ2SS8

In your mythical society I would never work another day in my life.

There are many ways to give to the poor and giving to the poor on a regular, consistent schedule is in my humble opinion, a moral imperative.

However, giving handouts to beggars is a terrible idea. You are encouraging loitering and more importantly, depending on the location, they can pull in more cash than a menial job would. While that may leave a bad taste in your mouth, that's not the worst of it. Keep in mind that when it comes to begging, location is key. This invites competition and since the police nor the courts will step in to resolve disputes between beggars claiming a corner ... well, that will simply breed violence.

Please, just give money to a local organization that assists the poor, like a soup kitchen.

Really? No one knows what the effect would be of paying people a base income regardless of whether or not they work? I think we've seen ample evidence over the last century of exactly what the effect would be.

I suppose that's one possible scenario but I don't think I personally would become one. I think a lot people feel the same.

I think if we were to start over as a society without the social norms of begging like we have now and everyone were to give if they saw the 1st person ever on the street things might be a different and we might not have people who are on the street for extended periods like we do now.

I wonder if there's a way to test this out.