For one thing, because there is no evidence I'm aware of that any tangible, real-world action originates from the belief that the poor should be "elevated" in some other manner.
When the government gives poor single moms peanut butter to make sure that her kids have protein to eat, that gets measured, and we can perform efficacy studies on it. When the government gives housing stipends to poor families so that they have a home to live in, we can measure that too.
If the enormous segment of the population that doesn't believe the government should be helping the poor is initiating some kind of private action that has broad, measurable effects on the plight of the poor, I would be delighted to hear about it. If not, then this claim that some other action should be taken kind of seems like a red herring in the discussion, because that means that the only practical options on the table are for the government to do something or for the government to not do something.
The government has largely crowded out private action. Before the American welfare state was created, mutual aid societies and churches filled the welfare gap. These institutions were generally more effective in their mission than government today, and the fabric of our society was far richer for it.
Today, helping the poor largely means lobbying for more spending for some program.
There was very little to be crowded out. When funding was opt-in, the result was a vanity safety net far too weak for any serious problems. That's why Dickens portrayed such a hellhole. Why communities organized around private charity declared defeat and posted "OKIES MOVE ON" signs during the Great Depression (which is what led to creating a welfare state that actually kind of met the needs). Why even churches need government funds to keep their own food banks open. The problem is bigger than the number of volunteers paying more than their share.
When the government gives poor single moms peanut butter to make sure that her kids have protein to eat, that gets measured, and we can perform efficacy studies on it. When the government gives housing stipends to poor families so that they have a home to live in, we can measure that too.
If the enormous segment of the population that doesn't believe the government should be helping the poor is initiating some kind of private action that has broad, measurable effects on the plight of the poor, I would be delighted to hear about it. If not, then this claim that some other action should be taken kind of seems like a red herring in the discussion, because that means that the only practical options on the table are for the government to do something or for the government to not do something.