It is the classic test of generosity: If you see a homeless person begging for money, do you give it to them? Certainly homelessness has only gotten worse in recent years, for reasons related to bureaucracies that can't figure out how to help people, increasing income inequality, and evictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic destroyed the American economy, the Great Recession doomed an entire generation to an inferior financial life than those which preceded them. In theory, people should be feeling charitable right now — and particularly to the most indigent among us.
"Broadly, relying on charity to solve poverty is never going to work because these kinds of biases against those most in need are likely to stand in the way of charity work."
