Topic: 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?

There is argument that the government should be fully responsible for health care and education. There are also opinions that health care and education should be the responsibility of individuals. As far as I am concerned, I am of the latter opinion.

It is true that the government should be held accountable since its citizens have paid tax to be taken care of. Traditionally, health care and education have been two areas of government’s responsibility worldwide. Given the formidable cost of healthcare and education and the meager income of many families, it is fairly reasonable to ask the government for funding. But this can bring about negative consequences in many aspects.

The service sectors that provide the health care and education will become stagnated because of a lack of competition. Since the government is financing the two areas, the service providers in the concerning areas will not have to compete for market share. Where there is no competition, there is no incentive to improve and innovate, and consequently no progress on the part of medical services and medical technology. Furthermore, the government might channel the tax payer’s money into uses that can benefit the population more, such as the construction of infrastructure, the funding of scientific research that is of significance to human beings, or the crackdown on crimes. Finally, there is also the possibility that the government cannot raise enough money to cover the cost of health care and education, given the large number of people to be considered.

In a word, I believe that individuals should be held responsible for their own education and health care cost, since it is almost beyond the budget of the government to take care of all the costs, and public financing might discourage competition and reduce efficiency in the related sectors.