A United Nations investigator confirmed what most of America already knew: Donald Trump’s economic policies, particularly his tax scam, is making the poor even poorer while boosting his rich friends.
According to a Reuters report, “Poverty in the United States is extensive and is deepening under the Trump administration whose policies seem aimed at removing the safety net from millions of poor, while rewarding the rich.”
More from the report:
Philip Alston, U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty, called on U.S. authorities to provide solid social protection and address underlying problems, rather than “punishing and imprisoning the poor”.
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While welfare benefits and access to health insurance are being slashed, President Donald Trump’s tax reform has awarded “financial windfalls” to the mega-rich and large companies, further increasing inequality, he said in a report.
According to the report, Alston said: “The policies pursued over the past year seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic health care into a privilege to be earned rather than a right of citizenship.”
He added: “The tax reform will worsen this situation and ensure that the United States remains the most unequal society in the developed world. The planned dramatic cuts in welfare will essentially shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes.”
Alston confirms what many knew: Trump doesn’t care about the “forgotten men and women” of America
Trump campaigned on the promise that he would look out for the “forgotten men and women” of America. It’s largely why he was able to overperform in the midwest, an area of the country where many workers have been struggling for decades.
But since taking office, he has shown that he will serve the same wealthy interests that Republican presidents have been serving for decades – whether through banking deregulations or massive tax giveaways for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
Trump’s new sanctions on steel and aluminum will also likely hurt middle-class consumers by driving up prices on many everyday products. According to The Wall Street Journal, some U.S. companies are already hurting because of the tariffs.
There is no other way to say it: The lower and middle-class Americans who bought what Trump sold them during the campaign were conned.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
