"At the end of the day, however, particularly in a rich country like the United States, the persistence of extreme poverty is a political choice made by those in power," Alston wrote. The official said the U.S. values the work of U.N. experts "to raise attention to important issues around the globe"The Alston report is short on recommendations, mentioning only five. Alston also called on the United States to "decriminalize the poor." "The United States already leads the developed world in income and wealth inequality, and it is now moving full steam ahead to make itself even more unequal," he wrote. His report was only officially flagged by the U.N. human rights office on Monday.

Source: ABC News June 04, 2018 16:15 UTC