” In general, tzedaka is best managed by civil society and communities as they can best identify the needs of individuals. National programs only benefit the bureaucrats who administer them.”
Actually almost all social programs are administered by state or local governments.
Both in Judaism (see the descriptions of the Kuppah and Tamchuy in Mishnah/Yerushalmi Peah and Rambam), and in England and the American colonies (see the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law and similar statutes in all the colonies), poor relief was indeed done on a local level. This worked well for a while but it was criticized by laissez-faire economists starting with Adam Smith for making labor markets less robust, as people did not want to move to get jobs in other communities less they become ineligible for help should the new opportunity not work out. It also bankrupted poor communities as the few well-off individuals remaining faced absolutely crushing tax burdens. As a result, support for the poor had to be funded at higher levels of government.