As Trump, Ryan, McConnell, Hatch, Lee and various other miscreants celebrate their most recent triumph, the United Nations has produced a document that should break the heart of every American. This document describes conditions of poverty and inequality in the United States that are truly unconscionable, both in an absolute sense and in comparison with other civilized nations.
It is a long and agonizing report, and I can only touch on its findings by citing a few examples:
Among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, the U.S. ranks 35th out of 37 in poverty and inequality.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, nearly five times the OECD average. Criminalization is often used to disguise the problems of poverty.
Despite spending far more per capita on health care than any other country, the U.S. has many fewer doctors and hospital beds per capita than the OECD average and, by many measures, poorer health.
Democracy in the U.S. is seriously undermined by overt and covert disenfranchisement and gerrymandering. Among OECD nations, the U.S. recently placed 28th in voter turnout.
Contrary to the narrative put forth by the wealthy and those who do their bidding, the poor are not generally malingerers looking to game the system. Many have no realistic chance of escaping poverty under the current conditions in this country. Moreover, as the author of this report asserts, the persistence of poverty and inequality is a political choice and not an economic one.
Craig Rushforth, Kaysville
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