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October 21,2021
Anna Murray
Despite the fact that poverty and privilege continue to reproduce in vicious cycles, an independent United Nations human rights expert told the General Assembly on October 20 that it is possible to break the cycle and shift the paradigm. In his earlier July 19 report, "The Persistence of Poverty: How Real Equality Can Break the Vicious Cycle," Mr. Olivier De Shutter, Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, describes how, with political will, it is possible to end centuries of entrenched inequality and move from fate to opportunity.
Mr. De Schutter, a Belgian legal scholar specializing in economic and social rights, was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on May 1, 2020. In his statement, Mr. De Schutter suggested that investing in early childhood, promoting inclusive education, providing young adults with a basic income funded by inheritance taxes, and combating anti-poor discrimination are the key ingredients necessary to break the cycle of advantage and disadvantage.
In Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the top 10% own 52% of total net wealth, while the bottom 60% own just over 12%, condemning the poor to a lifetime of poverty. According to the report, which is based on data from OECD member countries, children from low-income households take four to five generations to reach their country's median income. In developing countries such as Brazil, Colombia, or South Africa, it can take up to nine generations or more.
Mr. De Schutter urged the debunking of the myth that inequality motivates people to work harder, claiming that the facts show the exact opposite. Unfortunately, privilege at the top and deprivation at the bottom are all too common. When people fetishize merit, they stigmatize and blame the poor or low-income people for their own predicament. Inequality inhibits social mobility and entrenches advantages and disadvantages over time.