Over here in Europe, we have a long-running and well-known hobby: America bashing. Most of it is just the former global top dogs expressing their dismay at the new global hegemon. If it had been the Russians that won the Cold War, then the sneers would be about pelmeni instead of hamburgers. Some of it is even fair – seriously, whatever did Europe do to anyone that deserved having NSYNC inflicted upon us? Or “Sharknado”?

But the big thing people over here pride themselves upon is that at least poverty isn’t like it is in the U.S. We’ve now got this report from the U.N. Special Rapporteur into poverty in the U.S., and he’s made a total mess of it, an entire cock-up, failing to understand even the basics. The important thing to note here is that this gross foolishness isn’t going to stop people beating you all over the head about it. So, as a little inoculation, allow me to point out the error.