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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.
Unfortunately, it seems that once welfare is made a public institution, if Rome is typical, it is only ever to be overturned by dictatorial power or by a situation in which the government is unable to provide the service in 476 AD, and there are insufficient records to conclude that it was perpetuated.
@DoubleD I just finished listening to the audio book of HG Wells The Time Machine. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the book was a warning against communism and dependency upon the state. At least that was my interpretation. It's a fantastic bit of fiction to listen to while model making https://youtu.be/_XoHZnsJwEw?si=-GDwBSNcXb_NtlM3
