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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.
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This specific practice of donating extra food after dinners was also seen throughout a great deal of the middle ages where it was seen as bad form for a wealthy individual to see that all the bread baked was eaten by their guests and family.
