I really want an answer to this from people who are not reddit-brained libs. I have seen some good points elsewhere about this contributing to a cycle of abuse and control, causing parents to withdraw their kids from school to beg instead, etc., but if someone is desperate enough to humiliate themselves by begging on the street, shouldn't we give to them? Or should I feel bad that I did give to them?
Idk any recent examples, but it's a racket, comparable to the economics around drug dealing. A racketeer and some goons will control a territory, assign people a territory where they're allowed to work, then come around and collect a cut under threat of violence. People get assigned more or less profitable areas based on their relation with the racketeer or their earning potential. Maybe if people have disputes over turf the racketeer settles them.
More or less feudalism, i guess. Steal some land, parcel it out to peasants, take your cut, maybe provide some government services and dispute resolution.
I've heard there are also groups that -aren't rackets and function as guilds, or even collectives. Territory is assigned by seniority or need or some other criteria, there may be an income sharing plan to ensure people get something if they had a bad day, the group may cooperate to get access to some services. The group handles issues of justice and dispute resolution within the community. Maybe even does job placement for "legitimate" jobs, or facilitates getting people piecwork or day labor.
Idk if it's still the case since city governments stepped up the oppression of homeless people, but in the us there are definitely some places where the homeless community was stable enough over time to have a degree of community, elders, allies in the area, a form of collective decision making or dispute resolution.