Thread...
I was contemplating welfare and its disastrous effects in contrast with private charity.
Rome had issues with the public grain dole from its inception as a subsidized and price-fixed grain purchase and storage program in the republican era, which even though it was financed by tax increases, saw a precipitous increases in demand as all price-ceiling schemes do. Once it was implemented corruption set in and was frequently a topic of reform but not abolishment by politicians.
Prior to the dole itself being proposed, Roman Patricians were expected to be philanthropic with their wealth. This was not limited to donations for public works such as libraries, it was even a cultural practice at dinner parties to donate extra or leftover food to the poor around you.
