Don't you know? That keeps the poors out, makes it a much more pleasant experience for the upper middle class, keeping the harsh realities of a system that utterly fails more people than a country as wealthy as ours easily ignorable. It's fine to have some folks panhandling at major intersections, you can give a granola bar and a water bottle to those folks and pat yourself on the back and consider your charity for the month done. But if the poors start shopping at your favorite store, they'll start lowering prices and offering more inexpensive options, put stuff on sale. How are you gonna feel well-to-do when you don't have 9 options over 4 brands of overpriced scented candle?