中国人权研究会文章：贫富分化导致美国人权问题日益严重

中国人权研究会14日发表《贫富分化导致美国人权问题日益严重》文章。

美国虽然号称世界第一强国，但却非人人富足。揭开美国整体富强的面纱，看到的是贫富严重分化的冷酷现实。

联合国极端贫困与人权问题特别报告员菲利普·奥尔斯顿在2018年5月发表的访美报告中指出，美国已经沦为贫富分化最严重的西方国家，约4000万美国人生活在贫困中，1850万美国人生活在极端贫困中，超过500万人的生活状态同第三世界绝对贫困人群相当。

2020年新冠肺炎疫情暴发以来，美国政府应对疫情不力导致严重的人权灾难，美国社会的经济不平等进一步暴露和加剧，底层民众陷入更为艰难的生存困境。

Rectangles designed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus by encouraging social distancing line a city-sanctioned homeless encampment at San Francisco, the U.S., May 21, 2020. /AP

The China Society for Human Rights Studies on Tuesday published an article laying bare the harsh reality of the serious division between the rich and the poor in the United States under the superficial of its overall prosperity.

The growing division between the rich and the poor in the United States has further highlighted and exacerbated the existing social and economic inequality within the U.S. society, reducing people at the bottom to a more difficult situation, read the article titled "The Growing Division Between the Rich and the Poor Leading to Increasingly Severe Human Rights Issues in the United States."

The wealth of 0.1 percent of the richest U.S. family equals to the sum of wealth owned by the 90 percent families from the bottom combined, noted the report, citing comments from a UN Special Rapporteur who said the United States has the widest gap between the rich and the poor among all Western countries.

"The American Dream was rapidly transforming into the 'American Illusion,'" said the rapporteur.

A person sleeps on a bench in the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, the U.S., May 26, 2020. /AP

American illusion

The growing division between the rich and the poor have led the American people into grave human rights disasters, the report pointed out, noting low-income groups are faced with the threat of hunger and their equal opportunities for education are also eroded due to poverty.

According to the report, around 40 million U.S. citizens live in poverty, and among them, 18.5 million live in extreme poverty. Nearly half of U.S. households are unable to maintain an adequate standard of living and more than five million U.S. citizens live in a state comparable to that of the absolutely poor in the third world.

The division also caused the "health gap" in the U.S. as those who lost their medical insurance due to poverty cannot afford medical expenses also have a shorter life expectancy and are more likely to die of illness, said the report.

The report attributed the cause of the division to "the so-called U.S. democratic system" which "deprives its citizens of economic, social, and cultural rights."

Money politics

It further revealed that the U.S. government lacks the political will to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, stating the nature of "money politics" of the U.S. political system.

"The capital interest has turned the U.S. government into a spokesman for the rich," said the report.

It suggested that the division between the rich and the poor in the U.S. will be a stable, long-term trend as a substantial reversal of this situation is unlikely in the near future.

"The severe negative impact it has brought on the enjoyment and realization of the human rights of the U.S. people will continue to worsen," the report concluded.

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