¡¡¡¡IV. On Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The United States is the richest country in the world, but it lacks proper
guarantee for people's economic, social and cultural rights.
The Americans in poverty constitute the "Third World" of US society. A report
released by the US Census Bureau on August. 29,2006 said there were 37 million
people living in poverty in 2005, accounting for 12.6 percent of total US
population. The report also said there were 7.7 million families in poverty and
one out of eight Americans was living in poverty in 2005. The poverty rates of
Cleveland and Detroit were as high as 32.4 percent and 31.4 percent respectively
and nearly one out of three was living under the poverty line. AFP reported on
Feb. 24, 2007 that based on the latest available US census data, the McClatchy
Newspapers analysis found that almost 16 million Americans live in "deep or
severe poverty", the highest number since at least 1975, up by 26 percent from
2000 to 2005. Between 2000 and 2005, the US economy grew by 12 percent in real
terms and productivity, measured by output per hour worked in the business
sector, rose 17 percent. Over the same period, the median hourly wage-the wage
the average American takes home-rose only three percent in real
(inflation-adjusted) terms. That compared with a 12 percent gain in the previous
five years was lower than it was in 2000. (Financial Times, Nov. 2, 2006)
Hunger and homelessness remain a critical issue. A report released by US
Department of Agriculture on Nov. 15, 2006 revealed that in the previous year
34.8 million Americans did not have enough money or other resources to buy food.
A survey on 23 US cities including Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles by the US
Conference of Mayors found that in 2006 requests for emergency food assistance
increased by an average of seven percent over 2005,with 74 percent of the cities
registering an increase. Also, requests for emergency shelter assistance
increased by an average of nine percent over 2005, with 68 percent of the
surveyed cities showing an increase. (US Conference of Mayors-Sodexho, Inc.
Release 2006 Hunger and Homelessness Survey, www.usmayors.org) Currently, there
are 600,000 or so homeless people nationwide, including 16,000 homeless in
Washington D.C. and 3,800 in New York City. (The New York Times, The Washington
Post and Reuters reports, October to December, 2006) It is estimated there are
3,000 to 4,000 homeless people in Baltimore on any given night. (The Baltimore
Sun, Nov. 20, 2006) In Hawaii, around 1,000 homeless people are living in tents
along beaches. (The New York Times, Dec. 4, 2006) A survey found that in Los
Angeles City and surrounding communities there were 88,345 homeless people, and
the mayor declared the city to be "the capital of homelessness in America." (The
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 12, 2006)
The average living standards in the United States are among the highest in
the world but the United States lags behind most countries in legal protection
for labor and family-friendly policies in the workplace. The Voice of America
reported on Feb. 4,2007 that a study of 173 countries with high, middle and low
income jointly conducted by Harvard University and McGill University found the
United States is one of the only five countries that do not guarantee some form
of paid maternity leave, the other four countries being Lesotho, Liberia,
Swaziland and Papua New Guinea. Of the 173 countries, 137 provide paid annual
leave but there is no federal law to guarantee such leave in the United States.
One hundred and forty five countries provide paid sick leave for their workers
but the United States has no federal law on this, leaving it to be decided by
employers. The United States has no law on maximum work week length or a limit
on mandatory overtime per week, but 134 countries have laws in this regard.
There is no guarantee in the United States to protect working women's right to
breast-feeding but at least 107 countries ensure their working women have
breast-feeding breaks. The United States guarantees fathers neither paid
paternity nor paid parental leave, but 65 countries grant fathers either paid
paternity or paid parental leave.
Quite a few Americans are not covered by basic health insurance. A report
released by the US Census Bureau on August. 29, 2006 said the number of people
without health insurance coverage rose to 46.6 million in 2005, accounting for
15.9 percent of the total population and up 1.3 million over 2004. Minnesota had
the lowest percentage of uninsured of 8.7 percent and Texas had the highest
percentage of uninsured of 25 percent. From 2003 to 2006, the basic Medicare
premium increased more than 50 percent to 88.50 US dollars a month from 58.7 US
dollars in 2003 and it was predicted that it would rise to 98.20 US dollars in
2007.The administration said the cost of the drug benefit would grow an average
of 11.5 percent a year in the next decade, more than twice as fast as the
economy. (The New York Times, May 2, 2006) Statistics showed, in the past six
years, average annual Medicare cost of a US family reached 11,500 US dollars or
nearly 3,000 for each American every year. More and more Americans are unable to
afford the high Medicare expenses and looking for overseas medical treatment. In
2005, some 500,000 uninsured Americans trekked overseas for medical treatment,
according to the National Coalition on Health Care. (Eagle-Tribune, Nov. 27,
2006)
