An Outsider's View Of How the U.S. Treats Its Most Vulnerable : NPR
Philip AlstonPhilip Alston
Philip Alston  is the United Nations' special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. He speaks with NPR's Kelly McEvers about a report he is compiling on how the United State's most vulnerable are treated by the government.
 Philip Alston  has spent the past two weeks traveling around the United States - first Washington  D.C.  then Los Angeles  San Francisco  Alabama  Puerto Rico and finally West Virginia. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world  but  Alston  wanted to understand how it is that 40 million Americans live in poverty.  He  is the United Nations' special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. And  he 's with us now. Welcome to the show.
 PHILIP ALSTON : Thank you.
 ALSTON : I was looking primarily to see the relationship between the civil rights  which the United States holds so dear  and poverty. In other words  if you live in poverty in this country  can you actually enjoy the civil and political rights which you are supposedly guaranteed?
 ALSTON : To go to Skid Row in Los Angeles  to see the extent of it  the never-ending encampments and tents  the really grim circumstances under which people live. To go to Alabama to meet with people who live in areas that have no sewerage connection  and so their sewage is basically just pumped out into their gardens. Those sorts of things have a pretty big impact.
 ALSTON : So the rich are industrious  entrepreneurial  patriotic and the drivers of economic success. The poor  on the other hand  are wasters  losers and scammers. So as a result  money spent on welfare is money down the drain. Money devoted to the rich is a sound investment. The reality is that the United States now has probably the lowest degree of social mobility among all the rich countries. And if you are born poor  guess where you're going to end up - poor.
 ALSTON : I was very impressed by a lot of the community organizing that's going on in many places. I was very impressed by a voluntary health  dental  even psychological care clinic that I saw called West Virginia Health Right  which has no full-time doctors or dentists but relies on volunteer services from those communities and ends up seeing 21 000 patients a year.
 ALSTON : I have to admit that sometimes I fear that such superb and much-needed initiatives  they are taking the pressure off the state. And the state can sort of sit back and say  well  there's no need in that area. It's being done by these guys.
 ALSTON : Well  I think one of the most striking things is the lack of political will. I don't want to draw a comparison with China  but I did have to say when I was there that what was impressive was that Xi Jinping had made it a priority of his administration to eradicate extreme poverty. And when people said to me  oh  but he's just trying to keep control of the Communist Party  my response was  I think every politician is trying to keep control of government. And if others would dedicate themselves to eliminate poverty  then that would be great.
MCEVERS:  Philip Alston  is the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. Thanks for your time today.
 ALSTON : Thanks. My pleasure.
Philip Alston  is the United Nations' special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. He speaks with NPR's Kelly McEvers about a report he is compiling on how the United State's most vulnerable are treated by the government.
 Philip Alston  has spent the past two weeks traveling around the United States - first Washington  D.C.  then Los Angeles  San Francisco  Alabama  Puerto Rico and finally West Virginia. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world  but  Alston  wanted to understand how it is that 40 million Americans live in poverty.  He  is the United Nations' special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. And  he 's with us now. Welcome to the show.
 PHILIP ALSTON : Thank you.
 ALSTON : I was looking primarily to see the relationship between the civil rights  which the United States holds so dear  and poverty. In other words  if you live in poverty in this country  can you actually enjoy the civil and political rights which you are supposedly guaranteed?
 ALSTON : To go to Skid Row in Los Angeles  to see the extent of it  the never-ending encampments and tents  the really grim circumstances under which people live. To go to Alabama to meet with people who live in areas that have no sewerage connection  and so their sewage is basically just pumped out into their gardens. Those sorts of things have a pretty big impact.
 ALSTON : So the rich are industrious  entrepreneurial  patriotic and the drivers of economic success. The poor  on the other hand  are wasters  losers and scammers. So as a result  money spent on welfare is money down the drain. Money devoted to the rich is a sound investment. The reality is that the United States now has probably the lowest degree of social mobility among all the rich countries. And if you are born poor  guess where you're going to end up - poor.
 ALSTON : I was very impressed by a lot of the community organizing that's going on in many places. I was very impressed by a voluntary health  dental  even psychological care clinic that I saw called West Virginia Health Right  which has no full-time doctors or dentists but relies on volunteer services from those communities and ends up seeing 21 000 patients a year.
 ALSTON : I have to admit that sometimes I fear that such superb and much-needed initiatives  they are taking the pressure off the state. And the state can sort of sit back and say  well  there's no need in that area. It's being done by these guys.
 ALSTON : Well  I think one of the most striking things is the lack of political will. I don't want to draw a comparison with China  but I did have to say when I was there that what was impressive was that Xi Jinping had made it a priority of his administration to eradicate extreme poverty. And when people said to me  oh  but he's just trying to keep control of the Communist Party  my response was  I think every politician is trying to keep control of government. And if others would dedicate themselves to eliminate poverty  then that would be great.
MCEVERS:  Philip Alston  is the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. Thanks for your time today.
 ALSTON : Thanks. My pleasure.