That's actually quite crafty. Instead of government assistance being dispersed directly where it can be sent abroad and siphoned off through services like Western Union it's pumped directly into the local economy.
This probably can't scale. Once enough money is involved organized crime will find a way to siphon that money out of the community. For example, WIC debit cards can be exchanged 50 cents on the dollar for cash.
That's nice for the local economy. Not as nice for the non-local people who would have received money but didn't. I bet some of them really could have used the cash.
Whether or not this is a good thing overall depends on your priorities, but remember that the consequences of a decision include not only the things that happen because of it but also the things that don't happen because of it -- and the former are much more visible, so it's easy to accidentally forget about the latter.
But it's the government giving it to them, not foreign aid or remittances. It's not like they are taking money away from them. If I were Italian. I'd like this aspect of helping your people while helping others at the same time. Win-win.
If you think I was making a point about what they should do, or what they have a right to do, then... I didn't make myself clear, and I apologize. I'm talking about concrete physical consequences. Who eats and who doesn't; that sort of thing.
This probably can't scale. Once enough money is involved organized crime will find a way to siphon that money out of the community. For example, WIC debit cards can be exchanged 50 cents on the dollar for cash.