Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The US is currently experiencing a "law and order storm" triggered in part by the country's homeless crisis. Among the latest developments, US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to expand his military deployments to more Democratic-led cities, the Associated Press (AP) reported. He made the threat in a spat with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat who has criticized Trump's unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington, according to AP. 

This not only showed the widening political division within the US, but also laid bare the deep-seated issue of wealth inequality in American society, reflecting the systemic failure of the American model in addressing social problems, including the homeless crisis. 

"Tent cities. Filth. Drugs. People digging through, living in and eating trash. Broken lives everywhere. This is not America," this is how American political commentator Benny Johnson described downtown Los Angeles in a post on X in May. 

While US public discourse over the homeless crisis is often politically charged, it also highlighted how rampant homelessness has become an intractable affliction for the US.

According to the latest annual homeless report released by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in the US reached the highest level since survey records began. 

Over the past decade, the number of homeless individuals has increased annually in the US, according to media reports.

Although there are many driving factors behind homelessness like unemployment, housing issues and health problems, the underlying cause is failed US policies. As the leading capitalist country, the US also suffers from the most severe wealth inequality among Western nations, trapped in a vicious cycle where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 

On August 17, the State Council Information Office of China released a report on human rights violations in the US in 2024. The report noted that skyrocketing inflation exacerbated the wealth gap, delivering catastrophic blows to low- and middle-income families. Economic and social inequalities in the US worsened, with the rich growing richer while the poor sinking deeper into poverty.

The US prides itself on being a "beacon of democracy." However, in the face of escalating wealth inequality and social division, the govenrment has rarely taken effective action. Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that "the measures taken by the US government are often palliative, rather than addressing root causes." 

Lü added that the US lacks effective means to tackle poverty, and the design and operation of its entire system are not aimed at achieving social fairness. Moreover, poverty generates further social problems, such as street violence, drug abuse, and social disorder. Persistent inequality and poverty in the US will ultimately become an uncontrollable issue, according to the expert. 

The vast wealth gap is a product of the US' political and economic development model, which in turn influences the evolution of these systems, constraining the US' soft power and influence on the international stage. A country that cannot properly address homelessness on its streets is hardly in a position to tell others how to run their countries, as some US politicians often try to do.

Currently, nearly half of the world's population still lives in poverty, making poverty alleviation a formidable global challenge. Many American elites struggle to understand or intentionally ignore how China has established extensive cooperation with developing countries to alleviate poverty. 

Indeed, China's valuable experience in poverty reduction addresses the world's pressing needs. On February 25, 2021, China announced that it had achieved a "complete victory" in its fight against poverty. Over the years, China has continued to participate in international poverty reduction cooperation with openness and inclusiveness, providing feasible solutions to many countries and regions and promoting global efforts to reduce poverty.