Hey, I would apprecIiate it if you correct my essay XI Question, Illiteracy has traditionally been viewed as largely a third world problem. However it is becoming apparent that in countries such as the USA and Australia, illiteracy is on the increase. Discuss possible causes for this and its effect on society. Answer, Throughout the years problems related to education in western countries have been solved with a strong and inclusive educational system. However, the inability to read and write in industrialized countries, such as America and Australia is increasing at rapid rate. These educational issues are affecting highly the productivity of western countries due to the lack of qualified labor. Therefore, it is believed by some that a low education budget and a poor coverage of educational systems in isolated areas are the main causes of illiteracy in first world. Both causes will be analyzed in this essay before a reasoned conclusion is drawn. Historically, America and Australia have had one of best equipped and trained armed forces in the whole world. Nevertheless, this high military expenditure affects directly the national education budget. For example, America’s defense budget reached 640 billion dollars in 2014, what is equivalent to 3% of the gross domestic product, while education spending reaches only 60 billion dollars. This example illustrates how education budget is severely affected by military spending. Thus, it is understandable why many believe that an insufficient education budget is a major cause of the increasing rate of illiteracy in some western countries. In large countries like America and Australia there are several isolated areas, which are not fully covered by educational system. For example, the average number of schools in remote areas in America are below the average in main states. A deficient budget in education is an obstacle in covering the isolated areas of the country. Therefore, the argument that a poor coverage of educational systems in remote areas affects directly the rates of illiteracy is supported. As the above discussion has shown, low education budgets and the absence of the educational systems in inaccessible zones play a significant role in the increasing rate of illiteracy. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that they are major causes in the inability to read and write in some countries of the first world. It is recommended that governments put in action policies in order to increase the education budget everywhere. Thus, illiteracy can be eliminated forever.