The reason the police do this is that wage slaves won’t be forced back into the worst, most poorly paid jobs we can find if they’re not facing death by starvation.

Systemically, yes this is why the police are allowed broadly by society to discourage helping those in need.

On a more personal, fundamental and visceral level, it's because the police are a product of people who have held power for a long, long time. And you know what poor and homeless people are to the systems that maintain the status quo? They're an inconvenient reminder that our system is designed to benefit a few, and that there are people hoarding gold and diamond backscratchers for every day of the week while children starve on the street.

That's a pretty downer reminder, isn't it? Throw in some of our human vices that we all share from top to bottom like substance abuse and you have a complete picture of what any of us could become if we're not careful.

See, for the vast majority of comfortable Americans, the homeless they pass every day are not reminders that humans need help, they are a reminder of failure. In a world where success is measured in dollar signs and possessions, someone without either is a scary, harsh reminder that we're all on a tightrope.

Brush them aside. Put them somewhere. Get them into some kind of "camp" and shuffle them out of view, lest they spoil this perfect image we have created of the modern world.