In modern society, there are a lot of serious problems. Poverty is increasing every year, and it has become a very important problem.

Poverty has many different causes. The first one is unemployment. A lot of people need to work hard if they want to earn a lot of money. Since people have to pay too many bills, good jobs are important for them. In fact, more and more companies have been lying off many employees in recent years. That’s why poverty is increasing year by year. If the government can decrease the unemployment rates, the problem may be fixed. The second one is gambling. Gambling is a big social problem not only in Canada but also in other countries. Even though it is a kind of recreation, a lot of people can’t help but do it. For example, the players in casinos can’t help but spend money on gambling. They don’t care how much they have lost when they are there. They usually lose all of the money that they have brought after they leave these places. That is the reason why they become much poorer. The third cause is natural disasters. It is certain that every year there have different kinds of natural disasters in the world. Many people lose their homes, children, and relatives. They are homeless and become poor and sick. Even though the UN supplies with them every year, this is still a serious problem.

Poverty also has several effects. The first effect is food. Poor people can’t have enough food as they need. Because of the lack of food, they always feel very hungry. They don’t have good nutrition, and then they can’t do anything. The second one is education. Due to the fact that the tuition fees are so expensive in modern society, a lot of people don’t have chances to go to school. In some counties, like the United States, Canada, autralia…. etc, people can apply for student loans. Even though they have this opportunity, they don’t have money to return them. That is the reason why they give up. The third one is healthcare. Some countries don’t have good healthcare plans for their residents. People need to spend a lot of money when they go to see doctors. The expense is so expensive that they cannot handle it.

In conclusion, poverty is a very serious problem in the world. If developed counties and the UN could pay attention to it, it is good for them to solve this problem. Or else, it will only make people’s lives worse.

August 2004