Why doesn't Meathead just have a pre-school telethon for all but the rich kids? Surely he and his Hollywood brothers & sisters wouldn't mind forking over some of their stinking money. After all, they can afford it, have too much and are the ones with guilty consciences.
Yes, there is a lot of research that shows that privately-raised funds are used much more effectively and with many fewer consequences than publicly raised funds in terms of social programs.