Poor becoming more destitute under Trump, says UN expert

Poverty in the United States is extensive and deepening under the Trump administration whose policies seem aimed at removing the safety net from millions of poor people, while rewarding the rich, a UN human rights investigator has found. Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty, called on authorities to provide solid social protection and address underlying problems, rather than “punishing and imprisoning the poor”. In a report, Alston said that as welfare benefits and access to health insurance were being slashed, President Donald Trump’s tax reform awarded “financial windfalls”…