Topic 13: Some people think the government should pay for health care and education,

but there is no agreement about whether it is the government's responsibility. What is

your opinion ?
) ease the burden of tuition fees ) ,( raise literacy rate or standards of literacy ;(
) fund of staff and faculty, course offerings, lab equipment, computer systems, libraries, facility
upkeep ; (
) skilled and experienced workers ) ;( levy income taxes ) ( provide care for the sick, the elderly, the
retired, the disabled, the children of the working parents, and so forth ; (
) universal access to healthcare services ) ,( ensure social equality ) ;( publicly-funded health care ,( )
improve the quality of service ) ,( increased emphasis on preventative and primary health care ,( )
reasonable pharmaceutical prices (
) not market driven ,( ) cost efficiency ) ,( a greater likelihood of lower-quality health care and
educational services ) ,( long waiting lists for access to some medical treatments, especially those of a
specialized or advanced nature ; (
) less motivation for innovation and invention ; (
) provide no incentive to enter the profession and fail to attract more qualified individuals who would
otherwise choose a different profession ; (
) speed driving, overeating, excessive drinking ) ,( compulsory education ;(
) ease financial burden (
Not surprisingly, health care and education are two areas of government priority in most,
if not all, of the countries around the world. However, many tend to see the both areas as
citizens' individual responsibilities. This belief is partly right. The government and the
citizens should be jointly responsible for the cost of education and health care service .
The first point to note is that government funding for education is of great benefit to
families with children and the society as a whole. There are occasions on which parents
cannot afford the cost of their education and their savings are meager, compared with the
formidable tuition fees being charged by a tertiary institution. Poor academic eperience can
impair one's employability and put him or her into a seriously disadvantaged position.
!overnment spending addresses this issue by providing aspiring students with access to a
comfortable learning eperience. "n this #nowledge$based society, possibly nothing is more
valuable than the access to education .
%imilarly, an individual should receive health care treatments, especially lifesaving ones,
whether he or she has the means to pay. &ccess to health care is a basic human right and a
measure to ensure a decent standard of living "n the event of the need for urgent or
emergency treatment, government spending enables sufferers to receive immediate health
care services. This is the fulfillment of the government's responsibility to its members.
Needless to say, health care treatment costs are, in general, unaffordable to low income
families, !overnment's financial support is therefore re'uired .
(espite these facts, it is immoral that individuals shir# responsibility and try to pass all
medical costs on to the government. "n view of the fact that the government raises financing
primarily from tapayers' income, individual's over$eploitation of a health care system will
in fact add a heavy burden on those hardwor#ing and good-hearted citizens. Particular
attention should be paid on those people whose health problems are attributed to their poor
personal living habits )smo#ing, drin#ing, substance use or inactive lifestyle*, in such cases,
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they should not be entitled for public medical services .
&s suggested above, education and healthcare services are of primary importance to
citizens, and the government has the responsibility to ensure that those services are available
and affordable. However, it is not to say that the government should bear the costs of all
healthcare and educational services that the citizens currently enjoy .
! "ormidable#remarkable#astounding# daunting
$ %mployability#the ability to find a &ob
' (spiring#promising#aspire
) *tandard of living#living standard#level of affluence# level of comfort
+ *ufferer#victim#patient
, -ood-hearted#charitable#benevolent#generous#altruistic
. /ear#assume#shoulder#take on
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