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Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

ohchr.org

31–40 of 70 posts

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#31
I don't doubt the gist of most of the report. We could do much better with the money we spend on Health...

but this sounds odd: "Neglected tropical diseases, including Zika, are increasingly common in the USA"

Given that a few years ago it was unheard of disease by most professionals.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#32
post #26

"The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans....It is against this background that my report is presented." It's interesting that he is a law professor (not an economics professor) and yet he stated this as if it were in…

In what way is it controversial that the major beneficiaries of the tax reform will the richest parts of society? I thought that's pretty obvious.

It’s a very biased framing. Even with the changes, our tax system is more progressive than say France or Germany.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#33

"The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans....It is against this background that my report is presented." It's interesting that he is a law professor (not an economics professor) and yet he stated this as if it were in…

It's interesting that you're an Entrepreneur (not a Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights) and yet you've rendered this entire report meaningless, in-spite of all the additional body of evidence considered in the report.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#34

"The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans....It is against this background that my report is presented." It's interesting that he is a law professor (not an economics professor) and yet he stated this as if it were in…

Thank you for pointing this out. Everybody is a skeptic these days, quick to condemn, quick to blame, quick to be "right" by always being pessimistic. The tax reform bill thus far has proven to greatly improve US company profits and a plethora of companies have issued substantial bonuses to Americans (not just to executives). Repatriation is good for all Americans, no matter class, wealth, or political affiliation.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#35

"The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans....It is against this background that my report is presented." It's interesting that he is a law professor (not an economics professor) and yet he stated this as if it were in…

You're right that we aren't certain that changes in tax rates alone might increase inequality, but the author is also speaking about that the cuts to welfare programs and social services that will probably follow the tax bill. The sentence that you elided from your quotation is:

"The dramatic cuts in welfare, foreshadowed by the President and Speaker Ryan, and already beginning to be implemented by the administration, will essentially shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes."

This is more than mere speculation--this is what the Speaker is saying he wants to do[1]. This is an important part of the background for this analysis.

[1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/01/gop-e...

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#36
post #24

Apologies for going off topic but what the hell did the developers of that do to the keys? If you scroll down and then use the down arrow you're taken to the top of the page and, paradoxically, one of the nav items opens. Can't use Command-Left Arrow to go back in the history. Just does nothing. Did they do that on purpose? Who thought that was a good idea? One I hope doesn't spread.

> If you scroll down and then use the down arrow you're taken to the top of the page and, paradoxically, one of the nav items opens

I can't reproduce this one, but cmd+r and then using the arrows does not work - only after clicking with the mouse once in the text.

The HTML output of that page is an utter, utter mess including MS Office comments revealing part of their internal infrastructure and workflow (look for www-edit.in.ohchr.org in the source). Jeez.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#37
post #32
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way is it controversial that the major beneficiaries of the tax reform will the richest parts of society? I thought that's pretty obvious.

It’s a very biased framing. Even with the changes, our tax system is more progressive than say France or Germany.

"As noted in the World Inequality Report 2018, in both Europe and the US the top 1% of adults earned around 10% of national income in 1980. In Europe that has risen today to 12%, but in the US it has reached 20%."

The tax reform will shift even more income to the top 1%. How is that biased framing?

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shelters are notoriously nasty places, and a bed alone is not what these people need. Many, if not most are seriously mentally ill, and need a level of care that isn’t available to people without serious money. Since the 1980’s mental health has been shafted in the US, with predictable results for homelessness and mass violence. Remember that the Us is a country in which a sitting congresswomen and bystanders can be…

> in which a sitting congresswomen That's a part of the problem right there: Gabrielle Giffords is a woman, not a man - unlike the other 78% of Congress. As usual with politics, as long as you're not a white, able-bodied male with money, no one will care what happens to you. There will be a couple of rallies, maybe a week or so of media headlines and that's it. Oh and maybe anniversaries of the event. Sounds cruel bu…

Ever hear of Steve Scalise?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Scalise

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#39

US infant mortality rates in 2013 were the highest in the developed world This is a common stat thrown around, but there is a non-obvious caveat. How this is counted differs between countries (even different in different EU countries). Wikipedia has a pretty good summary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality

It's not reporting: "the differences in reporting are unlikely to be the primary explanation for the United States' relatively low international ranking. Rather, the report concluded that primary reason for the United States’ higher infant mortality rate when compared with Europe was the United States’ much higher percentage of preterm births.[72]" from the wikipedia article you cite.

The question is why does America have a higher "percentage" of preterm births. I'll give you one reason, lack of affordable health care.

Re: Statement on Visit to the USA by Professor Philip Alston

#40

"The proposed tax reform package stakes out America’s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans....It is against this background that my report is presented." It's interesting that he is a law professor (not an economics professor) and yet he stated this as if it were in…

You're right that we aren't certain that changes in tax rates alone might increase inequality, but the author is also speaking about that the cuts to welfare programs and social services that will probably follow the tax bill. The sentence that you elided from your quotation is: "The dramatic cuts in welfare, foreshadowed by the President and Speaker Ryan, and already beginning to be implemented by the administration…

We can argue all day about whether these cuts will come from efficiency-based savings (cutting out waste/fraud etc) or whether they will actually “shred crucial dimensions of a safety net already full of of holes,” but I don’t think anyone can argue against the fact that the way he phrased that shows his extreme political bias. Which, again, is a bad way to start off a supposedly fact-based report if you want anybody to pay attention to it.
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