From Wikipedia:

The New York City commissioner of welfare called Strike It Rich "a disgusting spectacle and a national disgrace." The welfare commissioner brought the show to court on charges of unlicensed fund-raising and actually won a conviction.[5]
The supervisor of the Travelers Aid Society said, "Putting human misery on display can hardly be called right."
The general director of the Family Service Association of America said flatly, "Victims of poverty, illness, and everyday misfortune should not be made a public spectacle or seemingly to be put in the position of begging for charity."
The New York legislature looked into the controversy, but later washed itself of it, claiming it "lacked jurisdiction."
TV Guide called it "a despicable travesty on the very nature of charity."

This is America distilled to its purest form. You've got the misery porn, the huckster with the perfectly shiny hair, and the various corporate sponsors shilling their products with bullshit selling points. (e.g. Gardol isn't a fucking thing. It's name is "Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate")

This show is *perfect*.

When people can give nothing in return for our charity, the least they can do is entertain us. In an Objectivist utopia, this is how all social programs will be funded.