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bentarm comments on AndrewH's observation and opportunity costs - Less Wrong
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Increasing the payoff of begging just increases the number of beggars until the average wage once again falls to the point where it is just marginally unattractive - or so I've heard. I think someone once suggested that if you visit a poor country and want to help, do not under any circumstances give money to beggars; find someone who seems to be doing something productive, and give the money to them.
I doubt he was the first person to notice it, but Tyler Cowen has made this point more than once. I think it's also mentioned in Discover Your Inner Economist. Basically, it's trivially easy to find poor and deserving people who aren't begging, so why bid up the wages of beggars?