The government should ultimately be responsible for the health, welfare and prosperity of its own citizens.Write a response discussing your reaction to the stated policy.Justify your reasoning for the position you take.

In an ideal world, self-governance would be the answer to all of the ills we face today. Every citizen could be expected to behave responsibly and take upon the responsibility of tending to the less fortunate upon themselves. Wealth would be distributed evenly. There would be no crime. Quality healthcare would be available to all and so on. Unfortunately, the real world is far from this fantastical construct functioning perfectly on its own. In this context, the responsibility of ensuring health, welfare and prosperity of its citizens lies on the shoulders of the government.

We live in a world guided by free enterprise and minimal government intervention. Most of modern life is driven by free will of the individual. In most democracies, people are given the freedom to choose their own professions and make their own personal choices. And often, the lower strata of society get ignored in this economy. This is where the government is expected to intervene to ensure the goals of health, welfare and prosperity of each of its citizens is achieved. The government must incentivise socially responsible choices by its citizens. Corporate Social Responsibility is one such important tool. In most countries, mandatory CSR spending of large corporates as prescribed by the government is arrived at as a fraction of revenues. Instead, by measuring corporates CSR contribution in terms of the impact they have on society, we can ensure more responsible behaviour. Similarly, the government has a role in incentivising socially responsible behaviour and dis-incentivising behaviour that is detrimental to society across the spectrum of professions and choices.

In this world dominated by free enterprise, governments receive huge amounts of revenue in taxes. The expectation from the citizens when these taxes are payed is that the government ensures conditions conducive to prosperous living. It has been proven across the world that the private sector functions with a greater level of efficiency than the public sector. However, the responsibility of ensuring that resources are distributed evenly across the population and that every individual is living a high quality life rests upon the government. Private healthcare is highly expensive. Nutrition and housing are also increasingly becoming expensive. In this context, the role of the government is to provide subsidies to the financially backward sections of society to ensure that everyone receives quality housing, nutrition and healthcare.

The success of government subsidies and social sector spending can be seen across many European nations. Healthcare and education are provided free of cost in a few European countries. While this might not be viable for many others, it is definitely possible for most governments to ensure these facilities are provided at an affordable rate to those who cannot afford it.