Why did Franklin Roosevelt’s Federal Emergency Relief Administration give grants to states, even though it cost more than giving money to individuals? It was easier for the federal government to let individual states distribute the grants to individuals.
It was easier to identify impoverished states than it was to identify impoverished individuals.
States used the money to create jobs, which was better for morale than simply receiving money.
States could use part of the money to pay state officials and pass the rest to individuals.