Trump policies will make US 'most unequal society'

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The United States under Donald Trump is becoming the "most unequal society" on earth, according to a report by a United Nations expert on poverty.

Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, spent two weeks touring the US, where he spoke with many people who are homeless or living in deep poverty, to assess the state of poverty in the country.

Although the US is one of the world’s richest nations, "neither its wealth nor its power nor its technology is being harnessed to address the situation in which 40 million people continue to live in poverty," the report stated.

Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights /Reuters Photo

The US falls far short on existing policies to eliminate poverty, the report said, adding that the situation will aggravate the wealth gap and inequality in the US.

"One of the overriding concerns, however, is the enormous impetus given to income and wealth inequality by the proposed reforms," the report said.

“The American dream is rapidly becoming the American illusion, as the United States now has the lowest rate of social mobility of any of the rich countries.”

Alston said more than one in eight Americans live in poverty, nearly half of them in what is considered "deep poverty" and most have no way of escaping their plight. He also warned that the tax overhaul proposed by Congress and the Trump administration is also adverse to low-income populations.

Alston published his draft report on Friday. The final report will be available in the spring of 2018 and will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next June.