Writing Task 2
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?
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 experience can impair one's employability and put him or her into a seriously disadvantaged position. Government spending addresses this issue by providing aspiring students with access to a comfortable learning experience. In this knowledge-based society, possibly nothing is more valuable than the access to education.
Similarly, an individual should receive health care treatments, especially lifesaving ones, whether he or she has the means to pay. Access to health care is a basic human right and a measure to ensure a decent standard of living. In 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. Government's financial support is therefore required.
Despite these facts, it is immoral that individuals shirk responsibility and try to pass all medical costs on to the government. In view of the fact that the government raises financing primarily from taxpayers' income,to individual's over-exploitation of a health care system will in fact add a heavy burden on those hardworking and good-hearted citizens. Particular attention should be paid to those people whose health problems are attributed to their poor personal living habits (smoking, drinking, substance use or inactive lifestyle). In such cases, they should not be entitled to public medical services.
As 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.
1. formidable = remarkable = astounding = daunting
2. employability = the ability to find a job
3. aspiring = promising = aspirant
4. standard of living = living standard = level of affluence = level of comfort
5. sufferer = victim = patient
6. good-hearted = charitable = benevolent = generous = altruistic
7. bear = assume = shoulder = take on