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AFP
WASHINGTON
SOCIAL welfare protections for the poorest Americans risk being"blown apart"by the Republican tax reform bill that is on track to become law, a UN expert said Friday.
"The US Congress is trying desperately to pass a tax bill that, if adopted, would represent the single most dramatic increase in inequality that could be imagined,"said Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.
Alston, an Australian, was speaking to reporters following a two-week fact-finding visit to several US states and Puerto Rico to examine whether the"persistence of extreme poverty in America undermines the enjoyment of human rights."
The UN expert was particularly critical of the tax reform bill backed by President Donald Trump, saying it will"shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes."
The Trump administration has said the tax overhaul would boost growth in the world's largest economy and lead to more jobs and wealth.
But Alston said proposed cuts to social welfare programs"will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest one percent and the poorest 50 percent of Americans."
"The social safety net that currently exists is riddled with holes, with a partially and poorly funded approach to social protection,"he said.
"If the cuts are made, it will essentially be blown apart."
Alston said poverty also has an impact on democracy.
"Civil and political rights can't be enjoyed effectively in a situation where there is massive inequality,"he said.
"Poor people have no chance of having their voices heard, no chance of influencing public policy.
"The result is that people living in poverty, minorities and other disfavored groups are being systematically deprived of their voting rights."
According to Census Bureau figures, more than 40 million people live in poverty in the United States -- 12.7 percent of the population -- and poverty levels are particularly high among minorities.
While 8.8 percent of whites in the United States live below the poverty level, the figure is 22 percent for African-Americans and 18.4 percent for Hispanics.
Alston will present his final report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June of next year.
