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?
It can be part of larger organized crime, but doesn’t necessarily mean it’s exclusively begging. And organized doesn’t necessarily mean there’s some big boss who runs the show and makes a lot of money - just that it’s planned intricately and has a lot of people.
The groups I see in my area are definitely organized. Like 10 different faces throughout the week working in small groups with the same 5 signs with random pictures of kids working on 2 (sometimes 3 depending on the weather) intersections.