[maratd]

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.

[yummyfajitas]

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

Or even better, give money to a charitable organization that assists foreigners who are vastly poorer than every single person in the US.