UN Document lists 7 flaws in the fight against extreme poverty in the United States – and Trump | World

The statement refers to the United States and was made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights , Philip G. Alston, in a paper from the end of 2017, after traveling for 15 days country.

The text openly criticizes the world's greatest power and highlights problems such as growing inequality, the persistence of racism and the existence of a bias among those who are at power against the poorest and most disadvantaged.

"In a country as rich as the United States, the persistence of extreme poverty is a decision of those in power." With political will, it could be easily eliminated, says Alston.

The report says that a number of ingredients are essential for an effective policy of eradicating poverty, such as a policy of full employment, social protection for the most vulnerable, justice effective, racial and gender equality. "The United States is wrong in each of these measures."

Alston 's report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council and criticized by Donald Trump' s government.

The representatives of the American Government do not agree with the points raised by the rapporteur. They say the text has "exaggerated" the data and that the number of people in extreme poverty is not 18.5 million, but about 250 thousand.

The US ambbadador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the document was misleading and politically motivated. He accused the rapporteur of "squandering" UN resources to investigate poverty "in the richest and most free country in the world", instead of focusing on countries where governments are suffering.

Here are some of the most difficult questions that Alston poses.

1 – The American dream is an illusion

"Proponents of the status quo describe the United States as a land of opportunity and a place where the American dream can come true, because the poor can aspire The United States today has one of the lowest rates of intergenerational social mobility in rich countries, "says Alston.

"High rates of child and youth poverty perpetuate intergenerational transmission of poverty and make the American dream quickly become the American illusion. Equal opportunity, so valuable in theory, is a myth in practice, especially for minorities and women, but also for many families of white middle-clbad workers. "

Report criticizes how" some US politicians and vehicles "speak of supposed differences between the rich and the poor.

"The rich are described as workers, entrepreneurs, patriots, who stimulate economic growth, the poor, the unemployed, the losers and the dishonest, as a result, the money spent on social protection is thrown in the trash "criticizes Alston.

The reality is, however, "very different," says the rapporteur. "Many of the wealthiest do not pay taxes in the same proportion as others, accumulate much of their wealth in tax havens and derive their profits only from speculation, rather than contributing to the overall wealth of the American community ".

"In any society, there are those who abuse the system, both at the upper and the lower levels, but in reality the poor are for the most part born in poverty or fallen into circumstances which, in a To a large extent, are out of your control, such as mental and physical illness. "

These prejudices about the rich and the poor are reflected in policy formulation.

Your Rapporteur notes, for example, that one of the main arguments in favor of the reduction of social benefits is the allegations of fraud and that many officials to whom he spoke have stated that there are always have people trying to take advantage of the system.

"The contrast with the tax reform is illustrative: in the context of taxes, the goodwill and altruism of the recipient firms are largely believed, while the welfare state reform applies the rule of thumb. Inverse Hypothesis. "

3 – Employees But Poor

Alston points out that one of the arguments used in the United States by those advocating the reduction of social benefits is that the poor must stop relying on Help and government work.

"People think that in a developed economy, there are many jobs waiting to be filled by uneducated people, who often have a disability, sometimes have criminal backgrounds (often related to poverty), have little access to the health system and training or effective help to find work. "

" In fact, the labor market for these people is extraordinarily limited, especially for those who lack basic forms of support and social protection. "

To illustrate the inadequacy of the anti-poverty strategy by focusing on work, but without the support of social policies, Alston cites, for example, the case of workers at Walmart, the largest employer. the United States.

"Many of their workers can not survive a full-time job if they do not receive food stamps, which is part of a larger trend: to increase the proportion of households that, although employees are also This proportion rose from 19.6% in 1989 to 31.8% in 2015, "he explains.

4 – Justice, source of resources

Alston says that one of the mechanisms that hinder the progress of the poorest is the high amount of fines and fees that apply to those who commit minor offenses and who accumulate until they reach the end of their life. they are becoming enormous weight for them.

He cites as an example the fact that admissibility documents are suspended for a series of offenses, such as not paying a fine.

"C & # 39 is a way to support the poor in communities where there is no investment in public transport they are not able to earn money that would have helped them repay their debts. "

In this sense, the UN rapporteur criticizes the use, throughout the country , of the judicial system to raise funds and not to promote justice.

He says it has become a mechanism to keep the poor in poverty while generating resources to finance the justice system and other programs.

5 – Criminalization of the Poor

Among the shortcomings of the legal system, the report also points out that in many cities homeless people are only criminalized by the situation in which they find themselves.

"Sleeping in a public place, begging, public urination and a host of other offenses were created to address the scourge of homelessness."

Alston says that according to official data, in 2017 there were about 553,742 people in this situation in the United States, but notes that there is evidence that the number is much larger.

He states that it is only in the Skid Row area of ​​downtown Los Angeles that there are about 1.8 thousand homeless who only have nine public toilets, a number that is not even in line with UN standards for refugee camps and emergencies.

"That there are so many homeless people is preventable and reflects the political decision to put the solution in the hands of Justice instead of providing adequate and affordable housing, medical services, psychological training and professional. "

"Punishing and stopping the poor is the typical American response to poverty in the 21st century," says Alston in conclusion. "Mbad incarceration is used to temporarily make social problems invisible and to create the illusion that something is being done."

According to the UN report, the United States is the richest country with the highest level of inequality. He says that the richest 1% had 10% of national resources in 1980 and 20% in 2017. In the case of Europe, it was 10% to 12% over the same period.

"What the extreme inequality means is that some people hold economic and political power and inevitably use it to defend their own interests," he says.

"High inequality undermines economic growth and is manifested by low levels of education, inadequate health care and a lack of social protection for the middle clbad and the poor, limiting their economic and social opportunities. inhibits global growth. "

7 – The legacy of slavery

" When we think about the poor, racial stereotypes appear, people think that the poor are mostly people from color, blacks or Hispanic immigrants, "says the UN rapporteur. .

"The reality is that there are more than 8 million poor whites than blacks, the face of poverty in the United States is not only black and Hispanic, but also white, Asian and well from other origins. "

Alston considers that American society is chronically segregated. He points out that blacks are 2.5 times more likely than whites to live in poverty and that the infant mortality rate is 2.3 times higher.

Their level of unemployment is double that of whites, and they usually earn only $ 0.82 for every dollar earned by whites. In addition, his incarceration rate is 6.4 times higher.