China Answers Report by the U.S. with Document on Human Rights of the U.S.

The following is the third part of the text of the Human Rights Record of the United States of 2010, published in Beijing by the Information Office of the State Council (China’s cabinet): III., on economic, social, and cultural rights.

America is the wealthiest country in the world, but the protection of economic, social and cultural rights of its citizens is deteriorating significantly.

The unemployment rate in the Unites States has remained remarkably high. Between December 2007 and October 2010 there was a loss of 7.5 million total jobs (The New York Times, November 19, 2010). Statistics released by the United States Department of Labor on December 3, 2010, show that the rate of unemployment in that country skyrocketed to 9.8 percent in November 2010 and the number of unemployed persons was 15 million in November, of which 41.9 percent were without work for 27 weeks or more (Data.bls.gov). The unemployment rate in California in January 2010 was 12.5 percent, the highest figure in the history of this state or of any western state. Eight counties reached an unemployment rate of 20 percent (The Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2011). In October 2010, the rate of unemployment in the state of New York was 8.3 percent, with nearly 800,000 unemployed and 527,000 recipients of unemployment benefits across the state.

The employment situation of disabled people was even worse. According to statistics published by the United States Department of Labor on August 25, 2010, the average rate of unemployment among disabled workers was 14.5 percent in 2009; about a third of this group worked only part time. In turn, the unemployment rate for those disabled workers with bachelors’ degrees or higher was 8.3 percent, surpassing the 4.5 percent of healthy people for their category (the Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2010). Since July 2010 the unemployment rate of disabled people in the United States rose 16.4 percent (the Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2010). In 2009, over 21,000 disabled people filed complaints with the Commission of Equal Opportunities in employment discrimination cases, which increased by 10 and 20 percent compared with figures for 2008 and 2007 respectively (The World Journal, September 25, 2010).

The proportion of Americans living in poverty reached a record level. On September 16, 2010, the Office of the United States Census reported that a total of 44 million citizens of this country lived in poverty in 2009, a figure that represents an addition of 4 million people since 2008. In 2009, the proportion rose to 14.3 percent, the highest since 1994 (The New York Times, September 17, 2010). In turn, the proportion of Americans living in extreme poverty rose to 6.3 percent (The World Journal, September 29, 2010). In 2009 the poverty rate in Mississippi was 23.1 percent (www.census.gov), while Florida had a total of 27 million people living in poverty (The Washington Post, September 19, 2010). In New York City, a total of 18.7 percent of the population lived in poverty in 2009, a figure that the next year increased by 45,000 people (New York Daily News, September 29, 2010).

The number of people who went hungry in the United States rose sharply. According to a report released by the Department of Agriculture United States in November 2010, 14.7 percent of households in that country did not have enough food in 2009 (www.ers.usda.gov), representing an increase of almost 30 percent since 2006 (The Washington Post, November 21, 2010). About 50 million Americans experience food shortages while the number of households needed emergency food aid rose from 3.9 million in 2007 to 5.6 million in 2009 (The China Press, November 16, 2010). Also, the number of U.S. citizens who participated in a food stamp program rose from 26 million in May 2007 to 42 million in September 2010, which means that about one in eight people benefited from this service (The Associated Press, October 22, 2010). In the past four years, 31.6 percent of American families experienced periods of shortages for at least two months (The Globe and Mail, September 17, 2010).

The number of homeless people in the United States rose dramatically. According to a USA Today report released on June 16, 2010, the proportion of families in shelters for homeless people rose 7 percent to 170,129 families, in comparison to the increase of fiscal year 2008-2009. Homeless families also spent more time in shelters, from an average of 30 days in 2008 to an average of 36 in 2009, while a total of 800,000 Americans living with relatives, friends or others because of their economic situation. The number of homeless students in the United States rose by 41 percent compared with figures for the previous two years, up to one million (The Washington Post, September 23, 2010). The city of New Orleans had 12,000 homeless people (Newsweek, August 23, 2010) and Los Angeles County had approximately 254,000 homeless men, women and children during part of the year. The day had an average of 82,000 people homeless. Nearly half of homeless people in Los Angeles County were of African origin, while 33 percent had Latino roots and a very high percentage, 20 percent, were veterans (www.laalmanac.com). Those American veterans who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may lose their homes a year and a half after the end of their tour, potentially leaving a total of 130,000 retired veterans homeless each year (homepost.kpbs.org, citing statistics from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America). According to figures from the Federation of Homeless United States, since 1999, there have been 1,000 violent crimes committed against homeless people that have left 291 dead.

The proportion of Americans who lacked health insurance increased progressively each year. According to a USA Today report published on September 17, 2010, the number of people without health insurance rose for the ninth consecutive year from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million in 2009, representing 16.7 percent of the total population. Every day, on average, 68 people under 65 die in the U.S. due to lack of health insurance. According to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in November 2010, 22 percent of Americans aged 16 to 64 lacked health insurance (Reuters, November 10 2010). A report by the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, 24.3 percent of adults under 65 in the state were uninsured in 2009, representing a total of 8 2 million inhabitants, an increase of 6.4 million over 2007. In turn, the proportion of uninsured children in California rose from 10.2 percent in 2007 to 13.4 percent in 2009 (The China Press, March 17, 2010, citing The Los Angeles Times).