Write 7 pages with APA style on Poverty in Rich Industrialized Nations. There usually exists a gap between the poor and the rich in both, though the poor in the industrialized countries do not live in abject poverty. This gap results in the inequalities that many sociologists endeavor to eliminate. They view it as an undesirable aspect amongst humans (Evenett and Keller 1998 p. 18). This essay is a critical evaluation of the causes and consequences of poverty in the rich and industrialized countries, possible solutions as well as an evaluation of the various explanations which Sociologists have given for this phenomenon. Statistics on poverty have been acquired from reliable published materials in regard to earlier research.

Research indicates that industrialization and economic development has had a positive impact on the rich than it has had for the poor. This has led to the enlargement of the gap between the two groups. “It is estimated that 60% of the countries under the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD)” (Michael et al 2001 p. 276) experienced an increase in the rate of expansion of this gap. The greater the difference between the poor and the rich, the more intense the poverty is likely to be in the economy.

The existence of a large number of poor people who instead of contributing tax to the government, present needs that require government attention increases the government’s allocation towards the provision of human services such as food and shelter, then spending on development initiatives that could lead to employment creation. This means that the rich few pay an insufficient tax to finance public spending, causing the persistence of poverty in the rich nations. A solution to this problem may be the continuous struggle towards reducing the gap between the rich and the poor in order for them to pay taxes equally. Minimum taxes collected from a large number of people may be better than a few rich people paying high taxes (Kevin et al 1989 p. 115).

In a recent study, it was established that demographic transformations have adversely affected the poverty levels in the developed countries.