Underneath the US’ Booming Economy Lies Millions of Poverty-Stricken Americans

Part I – Poverty in America

The United States has long been hailed as the land of opportunity, a place where people can make their dreams come true.  However, statistics show that 40 million Americans are living in poverty, and in some parts of the country people are living in third world condition without running water.  Many middle-class Americans are also struggling to make ends meet. Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, says U.S. officials are in denial about the country’s high rate of extreme poverty and that the Trump administration’s policies are making the rich richer and widening income inequality.