The Christian notion of charity is frequently confused with the redistribution of income and wealth that occurs in the modern welfare state. The latter, suggests Jennifer Roback Morse, is morally and spiritually corrupting not only to recipients, but to the rest of society by reducing compassion for the less fortunate. Morse, an economist at the Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason University, believes the moral costs of the welfare state should receive more attention. It tempts potential recipients to abuse the system, since in many cases poverty doesn't merely happen to a person, but is the result of personal choices. The final temptation of the welfare state may be to regulate the personal choices of recipients, since these choices determine whether or not they become impoverished or stay in poverty.
Private charity appears to be the way out of the moral dilemma of the welfare state.