Some people say government should give health care the first priorities, some others believe there are more important priorities to spend the tax payers' money. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
政府应该平衡各项社会开支
Some people are of the opinion that governments should make health care a top priority. I would say that the government should be flexible in its approach to utilizing taxpayers’ money.
Health care affects all of us, either directly or indirectly. The need to provide quality health care at an affordable price is viewed as one of the main responsibilities of a government. Now that people are living longer, there is a growing expectation that less money will be spent on health-related problems. Although the availability of high quality, reasonably priced health care is not the only factor which contributes to the well-being of a society, its importance cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, the cost of the support of public health has increased substantially and governments are left to try to cover these expenses and to ensure that affordable hospital services and medicines are available to all.
On the other hand, if a government allocates all of its financial resources to take care of people’s health, other areas that contribute to people’s quality of life will suffer. These include not only key sectors such as national security, education, employment and recreation, but also more mundane issues like maintaining basic infrastructure, including roads, public transportation and other services. Governments ought to take all of these areas into account when they are drawing up their budgets.
Although health care should be a priority for any government, that government must not ignore other areas that affect citizens’ quality of life. The government should strike a balance in determining its priorities, but health care should always be at or near the top of the list.