The people in Burma are very eager to learn about other countries and they'll all tell you they're very glad to see foreign independent travellers. Several seriously pro-democratic people told me they reckon Aung San Suu Kyi is wrong in stating all foreigners should stay away, but that actually she's only referring to the tour groups. Travellers can share impressions, views, opinions, experiences with people at home, thereby extending international understanding of the problems of Myanmar. I've already mentioned the economical problems. They're very real and as a result the population is struggling, suffering.
Money gets injected into a community, that's the important thing.
If I give money to the poor people cleaning the roads of mud then that money is theirs , not the government's. If I buy toddy candy from a bloke who's just been tapping a palm tree, that money will buy him food. If I give money to a seriously handicapped person who gets no support at all from the state and can't work, then I've actually helped him. Better a handful of people than none at all. There's an enormous cash flow to and from China, Thailand and other SE Asian countries.