Nikki Haley wrote an article under the title: “The United
Nations' Patently Ridiculous Report on American Poverty” and the subtitle: “It
is unnecessary, politically biased, factually wrong, and a waste of U.S.
taxpayer dollars.” It was published on July 9, 2018 in National Review Online.
To complain in the subtitle that the report was “politically
biased,” and then repeat the complaint in the text the way she did: “The report
distorts the facts in ways that a biased political opponent might,” suggests
that she wants to talk about facts rather than play politics with a subject as
important as poverty.
To see if she kept to her standard, we go over the article
with an open mind. What we encounter, however, is very little mention of facts
and a great deal of politicking pertaining to her tenure as governor of South
Caroline, her current position in the Trump administration, and her
international engagement as Ambassador to the UN. The truth is that the woman
is dripping with enough politics to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools
while accusing someone else of doing politics. Here is a sample of what she
said:
“As governor, we brought new jobs
to South Carolina and made investments into the education of students. Poverty
has the attention of the Trump administration. Its economic policies have
helped bring unemployment down. Its tax-reform law included a measure to direct
billions into distressed communities in every state. It is ridiculous for the
UN to spend resources studying poverty in a country where public and
private-sector social safety nets are in place to help those who are”.
The undeniable fact about this performance is that Nikki
Haley admits there is poverty in the United States, which is what the UN
reports is saying. This being the reality to which both sides agree, why is she
worked up about the report? She is, because the report “was harshly critical,
condemning America for punishing those who are not in employment,” she says.
Understood; but the problem is that she did not respond to the charge that
America punishes the unemployed.
In fact, Haley went around the question by saying that as
governor she brought jobs to her state, and now the tax policy of the Trump
administration is creating jobs as well. But what about those who, for one
reason or another, remain unemployed? How are they treated in America if not in
the way described in the UN report?
Well, Nikki Haley was not the only one to challenge the UN
report; so did Francis Menton who responded to the above question. He did so in
an article he wrote under the title: “The UN Fraudulently Addresses 'Extreme
Poverty' in the United States,” published on July 10, 2018 on the website of
the Gatestone Institute. As hinted in the title, Francis Menton differentiates
between “poverty” and “extreme poverty.” In fact, he does not dispute the UN's
right or authority to study poverty in America. His beef concerns the use of
the adjective “extreme” to characterize poverty in America. And he explains why.
He says that the UN defines “extreme poverty” as living on
less than $1.90 per person per day, which comes to about $700 dollars a year.
To see how this figure stacks against the situation in America, he says that
1.2 trillion dollars of annual redistribution is made to 41 million Americans
classified as poor. This comes to nearly $30,000 a year or 40 times the figure
defined by the UN as extreme poverty. Conclusion: there is no comparison, says
Menton, therefore the UN report about extreme poverty in America is false.
But this is not all the math that Menton has worked with. He
also said that the percentage of poor in America as compared to the size of the
population, was amended by the Cato Institute from 12.7% (41 million people)
down to less than 2% (6 million people.) What's more, he went on to say––though
poor and eligible––these people never sought benefits ... but he did not
explain why.
Well then, could it be that these people are the unemployed
who make up the extremely poor that the UN report is talking about? Since
Menton is not saying, we look for an explanation in the UN report. Here is what
we find on page 9, paragraph 29 under the title: an illusory emphasis on
employment:
“The [false]
assumption is that there are jobs waiting to be filled by individuals with low
educational qualification, often with disabilities of one kind or another,
sometimes burdened with a poverty related criminal record, without access to
health care, and no training or assistance to obtain employment”.
That must be it. That's the real reason why Nikki Haley is
worked up about the report. There are 6 million people in America in need of
assistance to look for a job and find one, let alone do the work and pull
themselves out of poverty.
If Nikki Haley admitted to that, the next question would be:
where to find the money to assist these people. And the answer would be that
the 38 billion dollars America is giving Israel to kill Palestinians and rob
them of their properties, should be diverted and used to help the unemployable
in America become employable.
Thus, to divert attention from the fact that America is
wasting billions in direct payments to Israel in addition to the trillions it
has wasted fighting for Israel, Haley repeatedly blathers about wasting
American taxpayers' dollars without associating these words with Israel.