U.S is in daily violation of human rights.
A View From the Battlefield by Jamala Rogers —
I know it seems like the destructive government shutdown was light-years ago, but the longest shutdown in history ended only about a month ago. There is still a lot to unpack on that situation alone, but I’ll save that for another column. The statistic that stuck out for me is how many Americans receive SNAP benefits. Forty-two million. One out of eight Americans.
There will be a lot of talk about human rights this week, and this month. The United Nations signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. As a human rights educator for nearly 30 years, I’ve always been fascinated by how people in this country can point out human rights violations in other countries, while overlooking issues within our own borders. It’s as if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) does not apply to the United States. Malcolm X and others attempted to take the case of African Americans to the United Nations. It was a radical act, highlighting the human rights violations faced by an entire racial group within this country.
Most of the 42 million people receiving food stamps are not lazy. According to the USDA, about 44% of SNAP recipients live in households where at least one member is employed. Employment status among recipients can vary, but estimates indicate that approximately 30% work full-time, while another 30% work part-time or occasionally. These individuals are working hard yet still cannot afford to eat without government assistance. This situation is criminal.
Of course, the same thing can be said of those who are unhoused. About 40 percent of those without housing have some form of employment. This is criminal.
When Michael Green published a thought-provoking article on Substack, he proposed that $140,000 should be considered the new poverty line. Green, who is the chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, argues that the current formula for determining the poverty line is outdated. He believes it has not kept pace with the rising costs of food, housing, and healthcare. This assertion echoes the claims made by welfare rights activists and social justice advocates for decades.
The Right to an Adequate Living Standard is Article 25 of the UDHR. This government was clearly in violation of Article 25 before the MAGA monster came into office. His policies and actions have accelerated the number of people being thrown into economic free fall with no safety nets in place to catch them.
The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is set to expire at the end of this year unless legislators take action. This seems unlikely, as the main reason Democrats prolonged the government shutdown was to pressure the MAGA supporters to address healthcare benefits. This situation is not just a policy issue; it is a matter of life and death that can have severe consequences for working people. Those facing serious medical issues may accumulate mounting debt, potentially leading to the loss of their assets. The inability to pay rent or a mortgage could result in them being evicted and left homeless.
The trump plan is to create extreme financial chaos for working-class people so that they can only focus on survival. While we are fighting for our very lives, we won’t have the energy, time, or resources to fight against the MAGA regime. A world where food, shelter, and other necessities of life are guaranteed is becoming elusive. These are the human rights we should be fighting for, especially as we witness the disappearance of legal protections that are subject to the political whims of the day. Universal human rights should always triumph over untenable laws that exist on paper.
Source: BlackCommentator.com
