The China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS)
Although the United States claims to be the greatest power in the world, it fails to make all its citizens live comfortably. Under the cover of overall prosperity in the United States, the harsh reality is the serious division between the rich and the poor in the country. In his report on his visit to the US, which was released in May 2018, Philip Alston, a United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, pointed out that the United States has the widest gap between the rich and the poor among all Western countries. According to the report, about 40 million US citizens live in poverty, and among them, 18.5 million live in extreme poverty. More than 5 million US citizens live in a state comparable to that of the absolutely poor in the third world. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the US government's ineffective anti-pandemic efforts have led the American people into grave human rights disasters, which have further highlighted and exacerbated the existing social and economic inequality within US society.
1. Basic Trends Reflecting the Continuously Widening Division Between the Rich and the Poor in the United States
The United States has a high level of income polarization. The survey results released by the Pew Research Center on July 12, 2018, show that the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has expanded significantly since the 1970s. According to the data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Gini coefficient for the United States reached 0.482 in May 2019, far exceeding the internationally recognized "warning line" of 0.4. The research data published by the World Socialist Web Site in December 2016 show that in 2014, the per-capita annual income of low-income US citizens, who accounted for 50 percent of the US population, was US$16,200, which was almost flat compared with the number in the 1980s, but the per-capita annual income of the top 1 percent high-income US citizens increased threefold over the same period. The research data also show that in 2014, the per-capita annual income of the high-income group equaled an ordinary worker's lifetime income. The Business Insider website disclosed on August 15, 2016, that after deducting price factors, from 1978 to 2015, the salaries of the CEOs of the 350 largest companies in the United States increased by about 940 percent, while the salaries of ordinary workers increased by only 10 percent. The website of Boston Review reported on September 1, 2017, that in the recent 40 years, the income of the low- and middle-income groups, which accounted for about 80 percent of the US population, had increased by only about 25 percent, while the income of the high-income group, which accounted for about 20 percent of the US population, had almost doubled. As reported by the Business Insider website in January 2017, Torsten Slok, Chief International Economist of Deutsche Bank, found out that the wealth of the top 0.1 percent US households equaled the wealth of the bottom 90 percent of the US households when calculating the wealth of US households based on income levels.
The size of the middle class in the United States continues to shrink. As reported by the Associated Press on May 13, 2016, 90 percent of households from the urban middle class in the United States were faced with increasingly worse situations, and many of them fell out of the middle class. A research report published by Gallup on September 20, 2016, shows that the percentage of US citizens who categorize themselves as being middle or upper-middle class has dropped from an average of 61 percent between 2000 and 2008 to 51 percent in 2016. This means that the quality of economic life for about 25 million US citizens has plummeted drastically. A report released by the Pew Research Center on May 11, 2016, shows that the middle class no longer holds the majority in nearly 25 percent of metropolises in the United States.
Poverty rates remain high in the United States. Statistics from the United States Census Bureau in 2018 show that the number of poor people in the United States reached 38.1 million, with a poverty rate of 11.8 percent. The 2018 annual report made by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) stated that there was an underestimation in the officially published US poverty rates, and it estimated that 43.5 percent of the US population (about 140 million people) live in straitened circumstances or earn a low income. According to a report released by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality in 2017, the overall poverty rate in rural areas in the southern United States is 20 percent, and the poverty rates for African Americans and for African-American women in this region are 33 percent and 37 percent, respectively. In the rural areas of the western United States, the poverty rate for Native Americans is as high as 32 percent.
2. The Division Between the Rich and the Poor Bringing Severe Adverse Effects on the Enjoyment and Realization of Human Rights
Nearly half of US households are unable to maintain an adequate standard of living. As reported by the website of USA Today on November 19, 2018, more than 5 million US citizens who worked full-time throughout the year earned an annual income below the US$15,000 poverty line, and many of them still had to support their families and children. According to a report released by the Federal Reserve in 2018, 43 percent of US households were unable to make ends meet and could only rely on loans to pay for housing, food, child care, medical care, transportation, and communication; 40 percent of US citizens did not have US$400 disposable income to cover accidental expenses such as medical emergencies or car repairs; hundreds of thousands of young people could not afford to go to college or university, and millions of people had to take on the heavy student debts. Given the long-existing structural discrimination and polarization between the rich and the poor, the US working class's ability to resist risks has been greatly diminished. According to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics, which were released on May 28, 2020, the total number of US people who filed their initial claim for unemployment benefits between March 15 and May 23 reached 40.8 million. Vox News pointed out on April 10 that it was the most vulnerable groups that bore the brunt of the economic impact brought by the recent pandemic. According to the report, during the pandemic, the people who are most vulnerable amid layoffs are those who earn the lowest salaries, such as low-wage workers in the catering and retail industries. When the US government launched the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP"), which was intended to help small- and medium-sized enterprises, some large companies with sufficient funds took advantage of the rule loopholes to acquire huge loans, but small businesses and small shops that urgently needed loans to sustain themselves could only announce closures or layoffs, since they could not get the help.
Low-income groups are faced with the threat of hunger in the United States, even when this country's economy is already highly developed. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2015, about 20 percent of children live in food-insufficient households in the United States. As reported by the website of the British newspaper The Guardian on November 26, 2015, between 2008 and 2014, at least 48.1 million US households were classified as "food-insecure" each year, and 19.2 percent of these "food-insecure" households had children who could hardly have healthy balanced diets. On August 17, 2014, the website of USA Today reported that excessively high poverty rates have led to about 14 percent of US citizens relying on food aid. Among the households that rely on food aid, 65 percent of them have at least one child under the age of 18 or an elderly person over the age of 60, and 79 percent of them buy cheap and unhygienic food to support their families. Hunger and malnutrition cost the United States more than US$160 billion a year to treat chronic diseases. According to estimates made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2015, 48 million US citizens would develop food-borne illnesses each year, of which 128,000 would need hospitalization and 3,000 would die as a result of such diseases. Forbes News reported on May 7, 2020, that a survey showed that a large number of American children were facing hunger during the pandemic. According to the survey, as of the end of this April, more than one-fifth of American households had been facing food crises, and as many as two-fifths of American households with children under 12 years of age had been facing such crises.
The homeless are living in poor conditions in the United States. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on February 24, 2017, that millions of people in the United States were driven out of their homes every year because they could not afford to pay the rent. Reuters website reported on November 20, 2015, that due to inadequate supply of affordable housing and weak economic recovery in most regions, more than 565,000 people were homeless in the United States, a quarter of whom were children. Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, and Hawaii have all declared a state of emergency in recent years due to an increasing number of the homeless. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on December 6, 2017, that the number of homeless in New York City increased by 4.1 percent in 2016. The living conditions of the homeless are extremely poor, and many of these homeless people urgently need medical assistance or suffer from mental illness. Homeless people who live on the streets face problems such as widespread violence and lack of toilets and bathing facilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the homeless people living on the streets have been relocated and forced to live in temporary shelters for isolation. The website of Reuters reported on April 23 that in the crowded shelters offered by the US government, it was impossible for the homeless staying there to practice social distancing, which made it easier for the virus to spread. The website of the New York Times pointed out on April 13 that the shelters for the homeless became a delayed-action bomb of a virus outbreak in New York City, as more than 17,000 people lived and slept almost side by side in those centralized shelters. The website of Nature magazine reported on May 7 that when researchers began conducting virus testing on homeless people in the United States, they found that the situation there had gotten out of control. The website of the Los Angeles Times reported on May 14 that research showed that due to the impact of the pandemic, the number of homeless people in the United States might surge by as much as 45 percent within a year, further exacerbating the public health crisis.
The poverty-induced stress makes the US people suffer from deterioration in their overall health. Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, pointed out in his report on his visit to the United States that the "health gap" between the United States and countries with the same level of development continues to widen, as the US citizens have shorter life expectancy and are more likely to die of illness. A report on the residents living in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, which was made by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on October 14, 2015, showed that 76 percent of the residents were African Americans and nearly 40 percent of the residents lived below the poverty line and that these residents are more than twice as likely to become HIV-infected and their average life expectancy is 11 years shorter than that of the residents living in the Financial District, Manhattan. The Medical News website reported on June 13, 2017, that 15.7 million people in the United States are alcoholics and 7.7 million abuse illegal drugs. The CBS website reported on June 6, 2017, that overdose had become the leading cause of death among US citizens under the age of 50. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 2017 showed that more than 63,600 people in the United States died from a drug overdose in 2016.
US citizens who have lost their medical insurance due to poverty cannot afford medical expenses. Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare survey, conducted between November 1 and 11, 2018, showed that 46 percent of respondents were concerned that they did not have enough money to pay for medical care. A research study by the Urban Institute in the United States in 2018 showed that Texas had as many as 4.7 million residents under the age of 65 who did not have medical insurance, accounting for 19 percent of its population. The consumer protection organization of Families USA released a report on June 20, 2012, saying that in 2010, 26,100 workers aged between 25 to 64 in the United States lost their lives due to lack of medical insurance, a 31-percent increase over 2000. This meant that in the United States, due to lack of medical insurance, an average of 72 people lost their lives every day and an average of three lives were lost every hour. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on November 13, 2017, that being afraid of losing health insurance, more and more US citizens could not quit their jobs and were forced into a state that was referred by the economists as "job lock". The website of The Atlantic Monthly reported in April 2020 that low-income people in the United States would usually delay seeing a doctor when they became ill, not because they did not want to recover, but because they had no money at all. Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of millions of people in the United States are not covered by medical insurance, when intensive care for novel coronavirus pneumonia costs as high as tens of thousands of dollars in the country. "To be or not to be" is not just a philosophical proposition of some literary work, but a realistic choice that the people at the bottom of US society have to make.
The division between the rich and the poor has led to a decline in the average life expectancy and increasing suicide rates in the United States. According to the data released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the United States on December 8, 2016, the life expectancy of US citizens showed a general downward trend compared to the numbers of 2014, with US men's life expectancy falling from 76.5 years in 2014 to 76.3 years; US women's life expectancy falling from 81.3 to 81.2 years; all US citizens' life expectancy falling from 78.9 to 78.8. In the meantime, the US suicide rates continued increasing. According to the data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2014, there were 41,149 suicides in the United States in 2013, an increase of about 41 percent over 1999. There is a suicide in the United States every 13 minutes, and suicide has become the 10th leading cause of death in the country, causing over twice as many human deaths than by homicide. According to the CDC's Fatal Injury Report 2015, in the United States, there were 9.8 million adults claiming suicidal thoughts, and among them, 2.7 million had suicide plans, and 1.4 million made nonfatal suicide attempts.
Low-income groups cannot enjoy equal opportunities for education in the United States. Rich people always have significant advantages in obtaining higher education resources, which leads to an increasing public dissatisfaction with the US higher education system. As reported by the website of The Washington Post on October 10, 2018, although the distribution of IQ scores has a normal shape in both the group of children born into rich families and the group born into poor families, the former group is more likely to succeed. According to the report, the less-gifted children of high-income parents are more likely to get college diplomas than better-gifted children of low-income parents. As reported by The New York Times, in 38 US universities including famous universities such as Yale University, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania, the total number of students from the top 1 percent of US households is greater than the total number of students from the bottom 60 percent of US households. A survey published by Gallup in October 2018 showed that only less than half of the US population had confidence in the US higher education system. In his report published in May 2018 on his visit to the United States, Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, pointed out that among all the affluent countries in the world, the United States had the lowest intergenerational social mobility, and that the American Dream was rapidly transforming into the "American Illusion".
Poor children and single mothers have a hard time in the United States. The BBC reported on December 11, 2017, that according to 2016 figures, there were 13.3 million poor children in the United States, accounting for 18 percent of the US population under the age of 18. The website of the Urban Institute reported on May 18, 2017, that nearly 9 million children grew up in persistently poor households, accounting for 11.8 percent of the total US child population, and in the meantime, these persistently poor children were significantly less likely to improve their economic status than their non-poor and less-poor peers after they come of age. Many single mothers and their families in the United States live a difficult life. The Single Mothers Survival Guide website reported on September 17, 2016, that among the more than 9.6 million single US mothers, 23.2 percent were unemployed throughout the year and only 22.4 percent of the single mothers who were fired or looking for jobs could receive unemployment benefits, and that about 7.83 million children raised by single mothers lived below the poverty line.
3. The Division Between the Rich and the Poor Remaining a Difficult Problem to Solve in the United States
The causes of the division between the rich and the poor in the United States are not something occasional or periodic. The so-called US democratic system deprives its citizens of economic, social, and cultural rights, leading to a growing gap between the rich and the poor and the long-unsolved problem of poverty that affects tens of millions of people.
(1) Structural Causes Leading to the Division Between the Rich and the Poor
First, disorderly competition in the capital market and hostile takeovers have resulted in fewer middle-income jobs in the United States. The Gallup website reported on September 20, 2016, that high-priced acquisitions of rival businesses resulted in a significant reduction in middle-income jobs, and that in the recent 20 years, the number of companies listed on the American stock exchanges had plummeted from 7,300 to about 3,700, and bankrupted small businesses had significantly outnumbered newly-established ones in recent years. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on December 8, 2017, that in 2017, the unemployment rate of young US citizens was as high as 15.9 percent and that due to insufficient full-time jobs, about 4.8 million people who wanted to work full-time jobs could only engage in part-time jobs.
Second, the structural rise in housing prices has made housing more unaffordable for low-income people in the United States. In 2018, the National Association of Realtors of the United States conducted a survey on home buyers and found that due to rising housing prices and interest rates, housing affordability declined and house purchasing was no longer an easy decision for home buyers. "The State of the Nation's Housing 2018" released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies showed that in 20 urban areas, more than 30 percent of middle-class households spent at least 30 percent of their incomes on housing. The website of The Washington Post reported on August 6, 2018, that poor urban residents had experienced sharp increases in rent in recent years. According to the report, since 2011, the nation's minimum rent has increased by 18 percent, and it is particularly noteworthy that since the summer of 2017, in San Francisco, Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, Pittsburgh, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and other places, the rent for the high-income group has fallen, while the rent for the poorest group has risen.
Third, due to the high-priced, inefficient medical services, the health conditions of low-income US people have deteriorated. The deteriorating health conditions of the US people are closely related to the high-priced, inefficient US medical system. According to a survey on medical service systems conducted by the Commonwealth Foundation in 2014, among the 11 countries at the same developmental level, the United States had the least efficient, least productive, and most unfair medical service system, it also had the highest mortality rate and infant mortality rate, and its citizens aged 60 had the worst health conditions. Besides this, the survey also showed that US citizens paid twice as much for medical services as those living in the other 10 countries did. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on November 13, 2017, that medical costs and medical insurance in the United States were becoming increasingly expensive, especially those for the treatment of chronic diseases, and the prices of medicines treating asthma or cancer continued to hit record highs.
Fourth, the rising cost of higher education has deprived low-income groups of their opportunities to receive higher education in the United States. The Gallup website reported on August 3, 2017, that since 1980, there had been no measurable indicators showing any improvement in the quality of higher education in the United States, but the prices for higher education had increased rapidly. The Forbes website reported on February 21, 2017, that student loan debts had become the type of consumer debts second only to mortgage debt, outnumbering the total of credit cards and car loans. There are more than 44 million students relying on loans to continue their education, and the total amount of their loans is as high as US$1.3 trillion. The average per capita loan for students enrolled in 2016 was US$37,172. In some regions, cuts in fiscal plans are leading to a decline in school enrollment. The website of the Chicago Tribune reported on September 30, 2016, that the freshmen enrollment declined significantly in many state universities. For example, the number of freshmen enrolled in Chicago State University was half of what it was in 2010, and the number of freshmen enrolled in the University of Illinois has fallen by 25 percent from the previous year. A 2016 study made by a non-partisan think tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), showed that public colleges in Illinois reduced their per-capita funding for the students by 54 percent compared to the number in 2008, while in Arizona, there was a 56 percent reduction. In 2018, the World Bank released a report entitled Intergenerational Mobility around the World. It took the people born in the 1980s as its subject of research and found that the United States was one of the only four developed economies among the 50 economies that did the worst in realizing intergenerational mobility through education and that the United States was among the developed economies that did a bad job in actualizing intergenerational income mobility.
(2) The US Government Lacking the Political Will to Narrow the Gap Between the Rich and the Poor
The US government lacks the political will to change the structural roots that lead to the division of the rich and the poor. Instead, it adopts a series of policies and measures that further widen the gap.
First, the US government's policies and measures to stimulate economic growth are only aimed at benefiting the rich instead of taking into consideration how to reduce the burdens on low-income groups. In his report on his visit to the United States, which was published in May 2018, Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, pointed out that the current US administration's strategy of stimulating economic growth benefited only the rich people, not the common people. The current US administration's policy of carrying out unprecedentedly large-scale tax cuts for large companies and the wealthy class at the expense of social welfare seems to be a policy formulated to widen the existing inequality. According to the analysis made by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), it is estimated that 27 percent of the revenue generated by the United States tax cuts in 2019 will flow into the pockets of the richest 1 percent people of the United States and the rich people will become the group who benefits the most from the current tax policies. Insufficient government financial investment leads to the lack of corresponding social security for the needy groups in the United States. A research report released by the Pew Research Center on August 18, 2015, showed that the United States had a serious shortage of funds for social security, with a deficit of about US$74 billion in 2014. The 2015 annual report of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees showed that the US social security system had a deficit of US$25.8 trillion, which was almost 1.5 times the total annual GDP of the United States.
Second, the Health Care Reform Act has been struck down, and full coverage of medical insurance has been rejected in the United States. The United States is one of the few developed countries that do not have universal health coverage. A considerable number of its residents do not have medical insurance and cannot receive the medical care they deserve when they become ill. Despite the US Congress adopting the Healthcare Reform Bill proposed by the Obama administration in 2010 and promising to establish a universal health care system, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that there were still 33 million US citizens not covered by medical insurance in 2015. On May 4, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted the American Health Care Act by a vote of 217 to 213, overturning many important contents of the Obama's health care reform plan, also known as "Obamacare."
Third, many rural hospitals have been closed in the United States, which has expanded the "medical desert". The website of Al Jazeera's US channel reported on December 17, 2017, that since 2010, more than 80 rural hospitals in the United States had been closed, and hundreds of rural hospitals were on the verge of bankruptcy. The "medical desert" zone is expanding. According to the research data from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program (NC RHRP), each closed rural hospital can serve approximately 10,000 local residents, who are the most vulnerable group in US society and know the least about how to live a healthy life. The closure of rural hospitals has destroyed the original rural hospital network and forced local residents to drive to hospitals dozens of miles away to receive medical services. A survey report released by the Pew Research Center on December 14, 2017, shows that since 2015, the public's positive evaluation of government-guaranteed medical services has fallen by 20 percent.
Fourth, the Internet management policy has widened the "digital divide" and strengthened the inferior position of low-income groups in the United States. As reported by the website of Al Jazeera's US channel on December 15, 2017, on December 14, 2017, the US government ended the net neutrality rules stipulated in the 2015 Open Internet Rules, which forbade Internet service providers from blocking or "throttling" certain data streams and required that traffic would have to be treated equally regardless of the users' ability to pay. The report commented that this move would allow rich people to enjoy faster Internet services with the help of money and thereby deepen the "digital divide" between the rich people and the low-income groups, putting the low-income groups at a disadvantage in the competition toward a digital future. For instance, in Detroit, where the poverty rate is close to 40 percent, about 40 percent of the city's population do not have access to the Internet at home. Nyasia Valdez, who engages in the city's Equitable Internet Initiative, has expressed that making the Internet more expensive will further economically disadvantage poor people. "It would be so devastating and further exacerbate the inequality that's already there," Valdez said.
A deeper analysis shows that the reason the US government lacks the political will to bridge the divide between the rich and the poor is closely related to the US political system and the capital interests represented by the US government. The vigorous development of money politics has turned the US government into a spokesman for the rich. The website of the British newspaper The Guardian reported on August 7, 2018, that the public generally believed that the US elections were corrupt and that members of the US Congress served only the companies, wealthy people, and special interest groups. As pointed out by Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, in his report released in May 2018, the United States is one of the richest, most powerful, and most technologically innovative countries in the world, but its wealth, power, and technology have not been used to address the persistent poverty of the 40 million people. "The persistence of extreme poverty is a political choice made by those in power," Alston wrote.
The division between the rich and the poor in the United States will be a stable, long-term trend. One cannot expect any substantial reversal of this situation within a short period. The severe negative impact it has brought on the enjoyment and realization of the human rights of the US people will continue to worsen.
China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHR) - Ingawa Marekani inadai kuwa nguvu kubwa zaidi duniani, inashindwa kufanya wananchi wake wote kuishi vizuri. Chini ya kifuniko cha ufanisi wa jumla nchini Marekani, ukweli mgumu ni mgawanyiko mkubwa kati ya matajiri na maskini nchini. Katika ripoti yake ya ziara yake nchini Marekani, iliyotolewa Mei 2018, Philip Alston, Mjumbe maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu umaskini mkali na haki za binadamu, alisema kuwa Marekani ina pengo kubwa zaidi kati ya matajiri na maskini kati ya nchi zote za Magharibi. Kulingana na ripoti hiyo, karibu raia milioni 40 wa Marekani wanaishi katika umaskini, na kati yao, milioni 18.5 wanaishi katika umaskini mkubwa. Zaidi ya raia milioni tano wa Marekani wanaishi katika hali inayoweza kulinganishwa na ile ya watu maskini kabisa katika ulimwengu wa tatu. Tangu kuzuka kwa janga la COVID-19 mnamo 2020, juhudi zisizo na ufanisi za serikali ya Merika za kupambana na janga hilo zimesababisha watu wa Amerika katika majanga makubwa ya haki za binadamu, ambayo yameangazia zaidi na kuharibu usawa wa kijamii na kiuchumi uliopo ndani ya jamii ya Merika. 1. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Mwelekeo wa msingi unaonyesha kupanuka kwa mgawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini nchini Marekani. Uchunguzi uliofanywa na Pew Research Center ulionyesha kuwa pengo kati ya matajiri na maskini nchini Marekani limeongezeka tangu miaka ya 1970. Kulingana na Idara ya Biashara ya Marekani, Gini ya Marekani ilifikia 0.482 mnamo Mei 2019, ikizidi sana "mstari wa onyo" unaotambuliwa kimataifa wa 0.4. Takwimu za utafiti zilizochapishwa na World Socialist Web Site mnamo Desemba 2016 zinaonyesha kuwa mwaka 2014, mapato ya kila mtu ya raia wa Marekani wenye mapato ya chini, ambao waliwakilisha asilimia 50 ya idadi ya watu wa Marekani, yalikuwa dola 16,200, ambayo ilikuwa karibu sawa ikilinganishwa na idadi ya miaka ya 1980, lakini mapato ya kila mtu ya raia wa Marekani wenye mapato ya juu ya asilimia 1 yaliongezeka mara tatu katika kipindi hicho. Takwimu za utafiti huo pia zinaonyesha kwamba mwaka 2014, mapato ya kila mtu ya kikundi cha watu wenye mapato ya juu yalikuwa sawa na mapato ya maisha ya mfanyakazi wa kawaida. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na tovuti ya ""Business Insider"" mnamo Agosti 15, 2016, baada ya kuondoa sababu za bei, kutoka 1978 hadi 2015, mishahara ya Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa makampuni makubwa ya 350 nchini Marekani iliongezeka kwa asilimia 940 wakati mishahara ya wafanyakazi wa kawaida iliongezeka kwa asilimia 10 tu." "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na gazeti la Boston Review, ""Katika miaka 40 iliyopita, mapato ya watu wenye mapato ya chini na ya kati, ambao ni asilimia 80 ya idadi ya watu nchini Marekani, yameongezeka kwa asilimia 25 tu, wakati mapato ya watu wenye mapato ya juu, ambao ni asilimia 20 ya idadi ya watu nchini Marekani, yameongezeka mara mbili.""" "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na tovuti ya ""Business Insider"" Januari 2017, Torsten Schloeck, Mkurugenzi Mtaalamu wa Uchumi wa Kimataifa wa Deutsche Bank, aligundua kwamba utajiri wa asilimia 0.1 ya nyumba za juu za Marekani ulilingana na utajiri wa asilimia 90 ya nyumba za chini za Marekani wakati wa kuhesabu utajiri wa nyumba za Marekani kulingana na viwango vya mapato." Ukubwa wa tabaka la kati nchini Marekani unaendelea kupungua. Kulingana na ripoti ya Associated Press ya Mei 13, 2016, asilimia 90 ya familia za tabaka la kati la mijini nchini Marekani zilikabiliwa na hali mbaya zaidi, na wengi wao walianguka nje ya tabaka la kati. "Gallup iliripoti katika ripoti yake ya utafiti mnamo Septemba 20, 2016 kwamba ""kiwango cha raia wa Marekani wanaojitambulisha kama wa tabaka la kati au la juu la kati kimepungua kutoka wastani wa asilimia 61 kati ya 2000 na 2008 hadi asilimia 51 mwaka 2016.""" Hii inamaanisha kuwa ubora wa maisha ya kiuchumi kwa karibu raia milioni 25 wa Marekani umepungua sana. Ripoti ya Pew Research Center ya Mei 11, 2016 ilionyesha kuwa watu wa tabaka la kati hawana idadi kubwa ya watu katika karibu asilimia 25 ya miji mikubwa nchini Marekani. Viwango vya umaskini vinabaki kuwa vya juu nchini Marekani. Takwimu za Idara ya sensa ya Marekani zinaonyesha kuwa idadi ya watu maskini nchini Marekani imefikia milioni 38.1 na kiwango cha umaskini ni asilimia 11.8. Ripoti ya kila mwaka ya Taasisi ya Mafunzo ya Sera (IPS) ilisema kuwa kuna kupunguzwa kwa viwango vya umaskini vilivyochapishwa rasmi na inakadiria kuwa asilimia 43.5 ya idadi ya watu wa Marekani (karibu watu milioni 140) wanaishi katika hali ngumu au wana mapato ya chini. Kulingana na ripoti ya Kituo cha Stanford cha Umaskini na Ukosefu wa Usawa, kiwango cha umaskini katika maeneo ya vijijini ya kusini mwa Marekani ni asilimia 20, na viwango vya umaskini kwa Wamarekani wa Kiafrika na wanawake wa Kiafrika katika eneo hili ni asilimia 33 na 37 kwa mtiririko huo. Katika maeneo ya mashambani ya magharibi mwa Marekani, kiwango cha umaskini kwa Wenyeji wa Asili wa Amerika ni juu kama asilimia 32. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata """Ugawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini unaosababisha athari mbaya sana kwa kufurahia na kutekeleza haki za binadamu, karibu nusu ya familia za Marekani hazina uwezo wa kudumisha kiwango cha maisha cha kutosha." Kulingana na USA Today, zaidi ya raia milioni 5 wa Marekani waliofanya kazi kwa wakati wote mwaka mzima walipata mapato ya kila mwaka chini ya kiwango cha umaskini cha dola 15,000, na wengi wao bado walihitaji kuitegemeza familia zao na watoto. Kulingana na ripoti ya Fedha ya Marekani iliyotolewa mwaka 2018, asilimia 43 ya familia za Marekani hazikuweza kupata pesa za kutosha na zilikuwa zinategemea mikopo tu kulipia nyumba, chakula, utunzaji wa watoto, huduma za matibabu, usafiri na mawasiliano; asilimia 40 ya raia wa Marekani hawakuwa na mapato ya dola 400 ili kulipia gharama za ajali kama vile dharura za matibabu au ukarabati wa magari; mamia ya maelfu ya vijana hawakuweza kwenda chuo kikuu au chuo kikuu, na mamilioni ya watu walilazimika kuchukua madeni makubwa. Kwa kuzingatia ubaguzi wa muundo wa muda mrefu na polarization kati ya matajiri na maskini, uwezo wa darasa la wafanyakazi wa Marekani la kukabiliana na hatari umepungua sana. Kulingana na takwimu za Idara ya Kazi ya Marekani, idadi ya watu waliotoa maombi ya kwanza ya misaada ya ukosefu wa kazi kati ya Machi 15 na Mei 23 ilifikia milioni 40. Vox News ilisema kuwa watu walio hatarini zaidi ndio waliosababisha athari kubwa za kiuchumi za janga hilo. Kulingana na ripoti hiyo, wakati wa janga hilo, watu ambao ni hatarini zaidi kati ya kufutwa kazi ni wale wanaopata mishahara ya chini, kama vile wafanyakazi wa mshahara wa chini katika viwanda vya kulisha na rejareja. Wakati serikali ya Marekani ilizindua Programu ya Ulinzi wa Paycheck (PPP), ambayo ilikusudiwa kusaidia biashara ndogo na za kati, baadhi ya makampuni makubwa yenye fedha za kutosha yalitumia fursa ya sheria za sheria kupata mikopo mikubwa, lakini biashara ndogo na maduka madogo ambayo yalihitaji haraka mikopo ya kujitegemea wangeweza tu kutangaza kufungwa au kufutwa kazi, kwa kuwa hawakuweza kupata msaada. Watu wenye mapato ya chini wanakabiliwa na tisho la njaa nchini Marekani, hata wakati uchumi wa nchi hii umesitawi sana. Kulingana na takwimu zilizotolewa na Idara ya Kilimo ya Marekani (USDA) mnamo 2015, karibu asilimia 20 ya watoto wanaishi katika nyumba ambazo hazina chakula cha kutosha. "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na tovuti ya gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian mnamo Novemba 26, 2015, kati ya 2008 na 2014, angalau nyumba milioni 48.1 za Marekani zilikuwa ""zikiwa na ukosefu wa usalama wa chakula"" kila mwaka, na asilimia 19.2 ya nyumba hizi ""zikiwa na ukosefu wa usalama wa chakula"" zilikuwa na watoto ambao hawangeweza kuwa na lishe nzuri na yenye usawa." "Kama ilivyotangazwa na gazeti la USA Today, ""kiwango cha juu sana cha umaskini kimefanya asilimia 14 ya wananchi wa Marekani kutegemea misaada ya chakula.""" Kati ya familia zinazotegemea misaada ya chakula, asilimia 65 zina angalau mtoto mmoja mwenye umri wa chini ya miaka 18 au mtu mzee mwenye umri wa zaidi ya miaka 60, na asilimia 79 wanunua chakula cha bei nafuu na kisicho na usafi ili kuitegemeza familia zao. Njaa na utapiamlo huagiza Marekani zaidi ya dola bilioni 160 kwa mwaka kwa ajili ya matibabu ya magonjwa ya kudumu. Kulingana na makadirio ya Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC) mnamo 2015, raia milioni 48 wa Marekani watapata magonjwa yanayotokana na chakula kila mwaka, ambayo 128,000 watahitaji kulazwa hospitalini na 3,000 watakufa kutokana na magonjwa kama hayo. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na gazeti la ""Forbes"" mnamo Mei 7, 2020, utafiti unaonyesha kwamba idadi kubwa ya watoto wa Marekani wanakabiliwa na njaa wakati wa janga hilo." Kulingana na utafiti huo, kufikia mwisho wa Aprili, zaidi ya asilimia tano ya familia za Marekani zimekabiliwa na mgogoro wa chakula, na asilimia mbili ya familia za Marekani zilizo na watoto chini ya umri wa miaka 12 zimekabiliwa na mgogoro huo. Watu wasio na makao wanaishi katika hali mbaya sana nchini Marekani. Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti katika wiki ya Jumatatu kwamba watu milioni moja nchini Marekani wanahamishwa kutoka nyumbani kwao kila mwaka kwa sababu hawawezi kulipa kodi. Reuters iliripoti mnamo Novemba 20 kwamba kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa makazi ya bei nafuu na kupona dhaifu kwa uchumi katika maeneo mengi, zaidi ya watu 565,000 walikuwa hawana makazi nchini Marekani, na robo ya watu hao walikuwa watoto. Jiji la Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland na Hawaii limetangaza hali ya dharura kwa sababu ya ongezeko la idadi ya watu wasio na makao. Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti kuwa idadi ya watu wasio na makao katika mji wa New York iliongezeka kwa asilimia 4.1. Hali ya maisha ya watu wasio na makao ni mbaya sana, na wengi wa watu hawa wasio na makao wanahitaji msaada wa haraka wa matibabu au wanateseka kutokana na ugonjwa wa akili. Watu wasio na makao wanaoishi barabarani wanakabiliwa na matatizo kama vile vurugu zinazosambaa na ukosefu wa vyoo na vifaa vya kuoga. Wakati wa janga la COVID-19, watu wasio na makazi wanaoishi barabarani wamehamishwa na kulazimishwa kuishi katika makazi ya muda kwa kutengwa. Reuters iliripoti Aprili 23 kwamba katika makazi yaliyojaa watu yaliyotolewa na serikali ya Marekani, haikuwa rahisi kwa watu wasio na makazi kukaa huko kufanya mazoezi ya umbali wa kijamii, ambayo ilifanya iwe rahisi kwa virusi kuenea. "Toleo la mtandao la gazeti la New York Times liliripoti Aprili 13 kwamba makazi ya watu wasio na makazi yalikuwa ""bomu la kuchelewesha"" la janga la virusi huko New York, wakati watu zaidi ya 17,000 waliishi na kulala karibu kando kando katika makazi hayo ya ""kituo cha watu wasio na makazi.""" "Tangazo la gazeti la Nature liliripoti kwamba ""wakati watafiti walipoanza kufanya majaribio ya virusi kwa watu wasio na makazi nchini Marekani, waligundua kwamba hali ilikuwa imepita kiasi.""" Gazeti la Los Angeles Times liliripoti mnamo Mei 14 kwamba utafiti ulionyesha kuwa kwa sababu ya athari za janga hilo, idadi ya watu wasio na makazi nchini Marekani inaweza kuongezeka kwa asilimia 45 ndani ya mwaka mmoja, na kuimarisha zaidi mgogoro wa afya ya umma. Mkazo unaosababishwa na umaskini unawafanya watu wa Marekani kuugua kwa sababu ya kuzorota kwa afya yao kwa ujumla. Philip Alston, Mjumbe maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu umaskini mkali na haki za binadamu, alisema katika ripoti yake ya ziara yake nchini Marekani kwamba "pengo la afya" kati ya Marekani na nchi zilizo na kiwango sawa cha maendeleo linaendelea kuongezeka, kwani raia wa Marekani wana matarajio ya maisha mafupi na uwezekano mkubwa wa kufa kutokana na magonjwa. Ripoti ya shirika la habari la AFP iliyochapishwa na shirika la habari la Marekani, ilionyesha kuwa asilimia 76 ya wakazi wa eneo la Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, ni wa asili ya Afrika na karibu asilimia 40 ya wakazi wanaishi chini ya kiwango cha umaskini, na kwamba idadi ya wakazi hao ni zaidi ya mara mbili ya wale walioambukizwa virusi vya Ukimwi na umri wao wa wastani ni miaka 11 chini ya wakazi wa eneo la Manhattan. Kulingana na tovuti ya Medical News, watu milioni 15.7 nchini Marekani ni walevi na milioni 7.7 hutumia dawa za kulevya. Katika ripoti ya CBS ya Juni 6, 2017, iliripoti kuwa overdosing ilikuwa sababu kuu ya vifo kati ya raia wa Marekani chini ya umri wa miaka 50. Ripoti ya Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC) ilionyesha kuwa zaidi ya watu 63,600 nchini Marekani walikufa kutokana na matumizi ya dawa za kulevya kupita kiasi mnamo Desemba 2017. Wamarekani ambao wamepoteza bima yao ya matibabu kwa sababu ya umaskini hawawezi kulipia gharama za matibabu. Utafiti wa kila mwaka wa Gallup wa afya na huduma za afya uliofanywa kati ya Novemba 1 na 11, 2018, ulionyesha kuwa asilimia 46 ya waliohojiwa walikuwa na wasiwasi kwamba hawakuwa na pesa za kutosha kulipa huduma za matibabu. Utafiti uliofanywa na Taasisi ya Miji nchini Marekani ulionyesha kuwa Texas ina wakazi milioni 4.7 chini ya umri wa miaka 65 ambao hawana bima ya matibabu, wakifanyiza asilimia 19 ya idadi ya watu. Shirika la ulinzi wa watumiaji la Families USA lilitoa ripoti mnamo Juni 20, 2012, ikisema kwamba katika mwaka wa 2010, wafanyakazi 26,100 wenye umri wa kati ya miaka 25 na 64 nchini Marekani walipoteza maisha yao kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa bima ya matibabu, ongezeko la asilimia 31 ikilinganishwa na mwaka wa 2000. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo, kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa bima ya afya, wastani wa watu 72 walipoteza maisha yao kila siku na wastani wa watu watatu walipoteza maisha kila saa. Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti mnamo Novemba 13, 2017 kwamba raia wengi wa Marekani waliogopa kupoteza bima ya afya, na hivyo hawakuweza kuacha kazi zao na walilazimika kuingia katika hali ambayo wataalamu wa uchumi waliita "kufungwa kazi." "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na gazeti la The Atlantic Monthly, ""Watu wenye mapato ya chini nchini Marekani kwa kawaida huchelewesha kwenda kwa daktari wanapokuwa wagonjwa, si kwa sababu hawataki kupona, bali kwa sababu hawana pesa kabisa.""" Kwa sababu ya janga la COVID-19, mamilioni ya watu nchini Marekani hawapatikani na bima ya matibabu, wakati matibabu ya ugonjwa wa mapafu wa coronavirus mpya yanagharimu maelfu ya dola nchini. "Kuwa au kutokuwa"" si tu pendekezo la kifalsafa la kazi fulani ya fasihi, lakini ni chaguo halisi ambalo watu walio chini ya jamii ya Marekani wanapaswa kufanya." Kugawanyika kwa watu maskini na matajiri kumesababisha kupungua kwa muda wa kuishi kwa watu wengi na kuongezeka kwa idadi ya watu wanaojaribu kujiua. Kulingana na takwimu zilizotolewa na Kituo cha Taifa cha Takwimu za Afya (NCHS) mnamo Desemba 8, 2016, muda wa maisha ya raia wa Marekani ulionyesha mwelekeo wa kupungua kwa ujumla ikilinganishwa na idadi ya mwaka 2014, na muda wa maisha ya wanaume wa Marekani ulipungua kutoka miaka 76.5 hadi miaka 76.3, wakati wa wanawake wa Marekani ulipungua kutoka miaka 8.1 hadi 81.2. Wakati huohuo, viwango vya kujiua nchini Marekani viliendelea kuongezeka. Kulingana na takwimu zilizotolewa na Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC) mnamo 2014, kulikuwa na mauaji 41,149 nchini Marekani mnamo 2013, ongezeko la karibu asilimia 41 ikilinganishwa na 1999. Kila dakika 13 mtu mmoja hujaribu kujiua nchini Marekani, na kujiua ni kisababishi cha kumi cha vifo nchini humo, na ni kisababishi cha vifo vya watu zaidi ya mara mbili kuliko mauaji. Kulingana na ripoti ya CDC ya Majeraha ya Kifo ya 2015, nchini Marekani, kulikuwa na watu wazima milioni 9.8 wanaodai kuwa na mawazo ya kujiua, na kati yao, milioni 2.7 walikuwa na mipango ya kujiua, na milioni 1.4 walifanya majaribio ya kujiua yasiyo ya kifo. Vikundi vya mapato ya chini haviwezi kufurahia fursa sawa za elimu nchini Marekani. "Watu matajiri daima wana faida kubwa katika kupata rasilimali za elimu ya juu, ambayo inaongoza kwa kuongezeka kwa kutoridhika kwa umma na mfumo wa elimu ya juu wa Marekani. """ Kulingana na gazeti la Washington Post, ingawa IQ ya watoto waliozaliwa katika familia tajiri na maskini ni sawa, ni zaidi ya asilimia 10 ya watoto waliozaliwa katika familia maskini wana uwezo wa kupata alama ya IQ ya kawaida. Kulingana na ripoti hiyo, watoto wasio na vipawa vya kutosha wa wazazi wenye mapato ya juu wana uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kupata diploma za chuo kikuu kuliko watoto wenye vipawa vya juu wa wazazi wenye mapato ya chini. Kulingana na ripoti ya The New York Times, katika vyuo vikuu 38 vya Marekani, ikiwa ni pamoja na vyuo vikuu maarufu kama vile Yale, Princeton na Chuo Kikuu cha Pennsylvania, idadi ya wanafunzi kutoka kwa asilimia moja ya familia za juu zaidi ni kubwa kuliko idadi ya wanafunzi kutoka kwa asilimia 60 ya familia za chini zaidi. Uchunguzi uliofanywa na Gallup mnamo Oktoba 2018 ulionyesha kuwa chini ya nusu ya idadi ya watu wa Marekani wana imani katika mfumo wa elimu ya juu nchini Marekani. Katika ripoti yake ya ziara yake nchini Marekani, Philip Alston, Mjumbe maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu umaskini mkali na haki za binadamu, alisema kuwa kati ya nchi zote tajiri duniani, Marekani ina kiwango cha chini cha uhamiaji wa kijamii kati ya vizazi, na kwamba ndoto ya Marekani inabadilika haraka kuwa "Dhani ya Marekani." Watoto maskini na mama peke yao wanaishi maisha magumu nchini Marekani. BBC iliripoti mnamo Desemba 11, 2017 kwamba kulingana na takwimu za 2016, kulikuwa na watoto 13.3 milioni maskini nchini Marekani, wakifanya asilimia 18 ya idadi ya watu wa Marekani chini ya umri wa miaka 18. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na Taasisi ya Miji ya Marekani, karibu watoto milioni tisa waliishi katika makazi ya umaskini, na hivyo ni asilimia 11.8 ya idadi ya watoto nchini Marekani, na kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya Taasisi hiyo, ""watoto hawa wa umaskini walikuwa na uwezekano mdogo wa kuboresha hali yao ya kiuchumi kuliko wenzao wasio maskini na wasio maskini.""" Mama wengi wasio na mume na familia zao katika Marekani wanaishi maisha magumu. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na tovuti ya ""Single Mothers Survival Guide"" Septemba 17, 2016, asilimia 23.2 ya mama walio peke yao nchini Marekani walikuwa hawana kazi, na asilimia 22.4 tu ya mama walio peke yao waliofutwa kazi au wanaotafuta kazi waliweza kupata misaada ya ukosefu wa kazi, na watoto milioni 7.83 waliolelewa na mama walio peke yao waliishi chini ya kiwango cha umaskini." 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli """Ugawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini bado ni tatizo gumu kutatua nchini Marekani, sababu za mgawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini nchini Marekani si kitu cha mara kwa mara au cha mara kwa mara." "Mfumo wa kidemokrasia wa Marekani unawaondolea raia wake haki za kiuchumi, kijamii na kitamaduni, na kusababisha pengo kubwa kati ya matajiri na maskini na tatizo la umaskini ambalo limekuwa likiendelea kwa muda mrefu na linaathiri mamilioni ya watu.""" "Mfano wa ""mashindano ya kimfumo"" kati ya matajiri na maskini ni kwamba, ushindani usio na utaratibu katika soko la mtaji na ununuzi wa mashirika ya biashara umesababisha idadi ndogo ya kazi za mapato ya kati nchini Marekani." Gallup iliripoti mnamo Septemba 20 kwamba ununuzi wa bei ya juu wa biashara za washindani ulisababisha kupunguzwa kwa kazi za mapato ya kati, na kwamba katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, idadi ya makampuni yaliyoorodheshwa kwenye masoko ya hisa ya Amerika imepungua kutoka 7,300 hadi 3,700, na biashara ndogo ndogo zilizofilisika zimekuwa zaidi ya zile zilizojengwa hivi karibuni. Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti mnamo Desemba 8, 2017 kwamba kiwango cha ukosefu wa kazi ya kuajiriwa kwa vijana wa Marekani kilikuwa asilimia 15.9 na kwamba kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa kazi za wakati wote, watu milioni 4.8 waliotaka kufanya kazi za wakati wote waliweza kufanya kazi za muda mfupi tu. Kwa upande mwingine, ongezeko la bei za nyumba limesababisha gharama za makazi kuwa za chini kwa watu wenye mapato ya chini nchini Marekani. Katika 2018, Chama cha Taifa cha Realtors cha Marekani (NAAR) ilifanya utafiti juu ya wanunuzi wa nyumba na iligundua kwamba kwa sababu ya kuongezeka kwa bei ya nyumba na viwango vya riba, upatikanaji wa nyumba ulipungua na ununuzi wa nyumba haukuwa tena uamuzi rahisi kwa wanunuzi wa nyumba. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika ripoti ya ""The State of the Nation's Housing 2018"" iliyochapishwa na Chuo Kikuu cha Harvard, zaidi ya asilimia 30 ya watu wa tabaka la kati nchini Marekani wanatumia angalau asilimia 30 ya mapato yao kwenye ujenzi wa nyumba." Gazeti la Washington Post liliripoti mnamo Agosti 6, 2018 kwamba wakazi maskini wa mijini wamepata ongezeko kubwa la kodi ya nyumba katika miaka ya hivi karibuni. Kulingana na ripoti hiyo, kodi ya nyumba ya chini nchini Marekani imeongezeka kwa asilimia 18 tangu mwaka 2011, na tangu mwaka 2017, katika miji ya San Francisco, Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, Pittsburgh, Washington, Portland, Oregon na maeneo mengine, kodi ya nyumba ya watu wenye mapato ya juu imepungua, wakati kodi ya nyumba ya watu maskini imeongezeka. Kwa sababu ya gharama kubwa na huduma za matibabu zisizo na ufanisi, hali ya afya ya watu wa Amerika wenye mapato ya chini imezorota. Hali mbaya ya afya ya watu wa Marekani inahusiana sana na mfumo wa matibabu wa Marekani wenye gharama kubwa na usiofaa. Kulingana na utafiti uliofanywa na Shirika la Commonwealth Foundation mnamo 2014, kati ya nchi 11 zilizo katika kiwango kimoja cha maendeleo, Marekani ilikuwa na mfumo wa huduma za matibabu usio na ufanisi, usio na uzalishaji, na usio wa haki, pia ilikuwa na kiwango cha juu cha vifo na kiwango cha vifo vya watoto wachanga, na raia wake wenye umri wa miaka 60 walikuwa na hali mbaya zaidi ya afya. Utafiti huo pia ulionyesha kuwa raia wa Marekani walipa mara mbili zaidi kwa huduma za matibabu kuliko wale wanaoishi katika nchi nyingine 10. Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti mnamo Novemba 13, 2017 kwamba gharama za matibabu na bima za matibabu nchini Marekani zilikuwa zikiongezeka, haswa zile za matibabu ya magonjwa ya kudumu, na bei za dawa za kutibu pumu au saratani ziliendelea kufikia viwango vya juu zaidi. Kwa upande mwingine, gharama ya elimu ya juu imewazuia watu wenye mapato ya chini kupata elimu ya juu nchini Marekani. Gallup iliripoti mnamo Agosti 3, 2017 kwamba tangu 1980, hakukuwa na viashiria vinavyoweza kupimwa vinavyoonyesha uboreshaji wowote katika ubora wa elimu ya juu nchini Marekani, lakini bei za elimu ya juu ziliongezeka haraka. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na Forbes mnamo Februari 21, 2017, ""mkopo wa mwanafunzi umekuwa aina ya deni la watumiaji la pili tu kwa deni la nyumba, ikizidi jumla ya kadi za mkopo na mikopo ya gari.""" Zaidi ya wanafunzi milioni 44 wanategemea mikopo ili kuendelea na masomo yao, na jumla ya mikopo yao ni ya $ 1.3 trilioni. Kiwango cha wastani cha mkopo kwa kila mwanafunzi katika mwaka wa 2016 kilikuwa $ 37,172. Katika maeneo fulani, kupunguzwa kwa mipango ya kifedha kunasababisha kupungua kwa uandikishaji shuleni. Gazeti la Chicago Tribune liliripoti mnamo Septemba 30, 2016 kwamba uandikishaji wa wanafunzi wa mwaka wa kwanza ulipungua sana katika vyuo vikuu vingi vya serikali. Kwa mfano, idadi ya wanafunzi wa mwaka wa kwanza waliojisajili katika Chuo Kikuu cha Jimbo la Chicago ilikuwa nusu ya kile kilichokuwa katika 2010, na idadi ya wanafunzi wa mwaka wa kwanza waliojisajili katika Chuo Kikuu cha Illinois imepungua kwa asilimia 25 kutoka mwaka uliopita. Utafiti uliofanywa na Kituo cha Bajeti na Mipango ya Mkakati (CBPP) ulionyesha kuwa vyuo vikuu vya umma huko Illinois vilipunguza fedha zao kwa kila mtu kwa asilimia 54 ikilinganishwa na idadi ya wanafunzi katika mwaka wa 2008, wakati huko Arizona kulikuwa na kupunguzwa kwa asilimia 56. "Basi, Benki ya Dunia ilitoa ripoti ya mwaka 2018 inayoitwa ""Intergenerational Mobility around the World.""" Katika utafiti huo, Marekani ilichukua watu waliozaliwa katika miaka ya 1980 kama mada ya utafiti na iligundua kuwa Marekani ilikuwa moja ya uchumi nne tu zilizoendelea kati ya uchumi 50 ambao ulifanya vibaya zaidi katika kutambua uhamaji wa kati ya vizazi kupitia elimu na kwamba Marekani ilikuwa kati ya uchumi ulioendelea ambao ulifanya kazi mbaya katika kutekeleza uhamaji wa mapato kati ya vizazi. """Serikali ya Marekani haina nia ya kisiasa ya kupunguza pengo kati ya matajiri na maskini, serikali ya Marekani haina nia ya kisiasa ya kubadilisha mizizi ya muundo ambayo inaongoza kwa mgawanyiko wa matajiri na maskini." Badala yake, inachukua safu ya sera na hatua ambazo zinaongeza pengo hilo. """Sera na hatua za serikali ya Marekani za kuchochea ukuaji wa kiuchumi zina lengo la kuwafaidi matajiri tu badala ya kuzingatia jinsi ya kupunguza mzigo kwa vikundi vya mapato ya chini." Katika ripoti yake ya ziara yake nchini Marekani, iliyochapishwa Mei 2018, Philip Alston, Mjumbe maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu umaskini mkali na haki za binadamu, alibainisha kuwa mkakati wa sasa wa utawala wa Marekani wa kuchochea ukuaji wa kiuchumi uliwanufaisha tu matajiri, sio watu wa kawaida. """Sera ya sasa ya utawala wa Marekani ya kutekeleza mapungufu makubwa ya kodi kwa makampuni makubwa na jamii tajiri kwa gharama ya ustawi wa kijamii inaonekana kuwa sera iliyoundwa kupanua ukosefu wa usawa uliopo." Kulingana na utafiti uliofanywa na Taasisi ya Ushuru na Sera ya Kiuchumi (ITEP), asilimia 27 ya mapato yanayotokana na kupunguzwa kwa kodi nchini Marekani mwaka 2019 yatapita katika mifuko ya watu tajiri zaidi wa Marekani, na watu tajiri watakuwa kundi linalofaidika zaidi kutokana na sera za sasa za kodi. Uwekezaji wa kifedha wa serikali usio wa kutosha husababisha ukosefu wa usalama wa kijamii unaolingana kwa vikundi vya wahitaji nchini Marekani. Ripoti ya utafiti iliyotolewa na Kituo cha Utafiti cha Pew mnamo Agosti 18, 2015 ilionyesha kuwa Marekani ilikuwa na upungufu mkubwa wa fedha kwa ajili ya usalama wa kijamii, na upungufu wa karibu dola bilioni 74 mnamo 2014. Ripoti ya kila mwaka ya Bodi ya Wadhamini ya Medicare na Usalama wa Jamii ilionyesha kuwa mfumo wa usalama wa kijamii wa Marekani ulikuwa na upungufu wa dola za Marekani bilioni 25.8, ambayo ilikuwa karibu mara 1.5 ya jumla ya Pato la Taifa la Marekani. Sheria ya Marekebisho ya Huduma ya Afya imepigwa marufuku, na chanjo kamili ya bima ya matibabu imekataliwa nchini Marekani. Marekani ni mojawapo ya nchi chache zilizoendelea ambazo hazina huduma ya afya ya ulimwengu. Idadi kubwa ya wakazi wake hawana bima ya matibabu na hawawezi kupokea utunzaji wa matibabu wanaostahili wanapokuwa wagonjwa. "Kama ilivyotangazwa na Baraza la Congress la Marekani katika mwaka wa 2010 na kuanzishwa kwa mfumo wa afya wa kimataifa, ""wakati wa mwaka wa 2015 bado kulikuwa na raia milioni 33 ambao hawakuwa na bima ya afya.""" "Mwezi Mei 4, 2017, Baraza la Wawakilishi la Marekani lilipitisha sheria ya ""Ulinzi wa Afya ya Marekani"" kwa kura ya kura ya 217 dhidi ya 213, na kufuta mambo mengi muhimu ya mpango wa Obama wa marekebisho ya huduma za afya, pia inajulikana kama ""Obamacare.""" Tatu, hospitali nyingi za mashambani zimefungwa katika Marekani, jambo ambalo limepanua "jangwa la kitiba". Al Jazeera iliripoti mnamo Desemba 17 kwamba tangu mwaka 2010, zaidi ya hospitali 80 za vijijini nchini Marekani zimefungwa na mamia ya hospitali za vijijini ziko karibu kufilisika. Eneo la "jangwa la kitiba" linaongezeka. Kulingana na utafiti wa North Carolina Rural Health Research Program (NCRHP), kila hospitali ya vijijini iliyofungwa inaweza kuhudumia wakazi wa eneo hilo 10,000, ambao ni kikundi cha watu walio hatarini zaidi katika jamii ya Marekani na wanajua kidogo kuhusu jinsi ya kuishi maisha ya afya. Kufungwa kwa hospitali za vijijini kumeharibu mtandao wa awali wa hospitali za vijijini na kulilazimisha wakazi wa eneo hilo kuendesha gari kwenda hospitali zilizo umbali wa maili kadhaa kupokea huduma za matibabu. Ripoti ya utafiti iliyotolewa na Kituo cha Utafiti cha Pew mnamo Desemba 14, 2017 inaonyesha kuwa tangu 2015, tathmini nzuri ya umma ya huduma za matibabu zilizoahidiwa na serikali imepungua kwa asilimia 20. Nne, sera ya usimamizi wa mtandao imepanua "mgawanyiko wa dijiti" na kuimarisha nafasi ya chini ya vikundi vya mapato ya chini nchini Marekani. "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na tovuti ya kituo cha Al Jazeera cha Marekani Desemba 15, 2017, serikali ya Marekani ilimaliza sheria za ""utatu wa mtandao"" zilizowekwa katika Sheria za Mtandao wa Wazi wa 2015, ambazo zilikataza watoa huduma za mtandao kuzuia au ""kuzuia"" mito fulani ya data na zinahitaji kwamba trafiki itatibiwa sawa bila kujali uwezo wa watumiaji wa kulipa." "Hatua hiyo itawawezesha matajiri kufurahia huduma za mtandao kwa kasi zaidi kwa msaada wa pesa na hivyo kuimarisha ""pengo la dijiti"" kati ya matajiri na vikundi vya mapato ya chini, na kuweka vikundi vya mapato ya chini katika hali mbaya katika mashindano ya siku zijazo za dijiti." Kwa mfano, katika jiji la Detroit, ambapo asilimia 40 ya watu wanaishi katika umaskini, asilimia 40 ya wakazi wa jiji hilo hawana Intaneti nyumbani. Nyasia Valdez, ambaye anajihusisha na mpango wa mji wa Equitable Internet Initiative, amesema kuwa kuongeza gharama za mtandao kutawafanya watu maskini kuwa na hasara zaidi kiuchumi. "Ingeweza kuwa mbaya sana na kuongeza ukosefu wa usawa ambao tayari upo", Valdez alisema. Uchambuzi wa kina unaonyesha kuwa sababu ya serikali ya Marekani kukosa nia ya kisiasa ya kuunganisha mgawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini inahusiana sana na mfumo wa kisiasa wa Marekani na maslahi ya mtaji inayowakilishwa na serikali ya Marekani. "Ukibadilishwa kwa sera za fedha, serikali ya Marekani imekuwa msemaji wa matajiri.""" Gazeti la Uingereza la The Guardian liliripoti mnamo Agosti 7, 2018 kwamba umma kwa ujumla unaamini kuwa uchaguzi wa Marekani ulikuwa na ufisadi na kwamba wanachama wa Bunge la Marekani walitumikia tu makampuni, watu matajiri na vikundi maalum vya maslahi. "Mwanahabari maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu umaskini mkali na haki za binadamu, Philip Alston, alisema: ""Mataifa ya Amerika ni moja ya nchi tajiri zaidi, yenye nguvu zaidi na yenye ubunifu zaidi wa kiteknolojia duniani, lakini utajiri wake, nguvu na teknolojia hazijatumiwa kukabiliana na umaskini wa watu milioni 40." "Ubaki wa umaskini mkubwa ni chaguo la kisiasa lililofanywa na wale walio madarakani", Alston aliandika. """Ugawanyiko kati ya matajiri na maskini nchini Marekani utakuwa mwelekeo thabiti wa muda mrefu." Mtu hawezi kutarajia mabadiliko yoyote makubwa ya hali hii ndani ya kipindi kifupi. """Hatua hii ina athari mbaya sana kwa kufurahia na kutekeleza haki za binadamu za watu wa Marekani na itaendelea kuongezeka."