But it does a very swell job at eliminating most of the worst of abject misery that comes with poverty in most other places.

Being poor in Latin America is an exponentially worse experience than being poor in France.

So wont private donations. I believe some forms of poverty are unavoidable if you want to have a free society (i am not saying I endorse either side). The country I live in has the rule you are not allowed to treat mentally ill people against their will (if they are considered harmless). There seems to be some evidence that quite a number end up homeless. So what can you do? Not realising being sick is one of the symptoms of some of these (treatable) diseases.

Adding more money wont solve anything.