Why do some states or countries prohibit giving money to beggars?

Answer 1

If begging pays, you promote more beggars to stand around on the street and bug people. It brings down the property of the street and harms actual businesses in the area. If there are more and more beggars, less customers and tourists will frequent the areas not wanting to put up with it. The areas real businesses and workers are the ones that suffer.

Prohibiting giving money to beggars can be promoted along with giving your money to charities instead like food banks and homeless shelters. That way the homeless still get what they need, and you know the money is going into what they need and not a certain percentage of it going to drugs and alcohol.

Answer 2

Easy enough --

1) no one wants beggars uglifying the streets, and obviously giving them money just encourages more begging. Since people might feel guilty, charitable, or whatever and hand over money, it's felt that making it illegal to give the money will relieve people of their guilt and discourage them from giving the handout.

2) in addition to making streets ugly, beggars sometimes get so aggressive in their begging as to commit assault and scare citizens, and that's good enough reason to try to stop the begging.

Answer 3

It goes back to the true meaning of the old phrase "you get what you pay for". If you allow people to pay the wages of beggars then you will always find someone willing to take the job.