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In formulating the budget of a country funds are allocated to different important sectors such as education, healthcare, industrial development, agriculture, infrastructure, roads and highways, telecommunication, public administration, aviation, defense, etc. among them healthcare and education are the two most important sectors where the bulk of the country’s budget goes. It is a matter of debate –education or healthcare—which of the two should get priority. A large number of people think that education is the most important thing for the development of a nation and thus should get the highest portion of the budget. Some others consider the healthcare system to be important and are worth getting preference.
Those who give priority to healthcare argue that the development of the healthcare system will ensure good health and protection from diseases for the citizens of the country. It is very important because a sick or unhealthy man can not contribute positively to the development of the country. He is always a burden for the nation. So it is important to improve the healthcare system from the viewpoint of both preventive measures and improved treatment. Preventive measures include vaccination, advocacy, creating health awareness, and other measures important for the prevention of diseases and epidemics. Besides improved treatment will save a lot of lives and ensure quick recovery for ill people. Such measures will give a feeling of security to the people and will improve the gross national production of a country. Even an improved healthcare system can attract foreign patients and earn a lot of foreign currency for a certain country.
Still, I think education is more important. Even for implementing healthcare policies, we need educated people. Educated people can easily distinguish between right and wrong and can choose the right path. If the people are educated they can be made into a productive force. It is certain that the productivity of an educated person will be more than that of an uneducated person. Be it an office or a factory educated manpower is required at every phase of production.
Besides, the government can export manpower if the people are educated. In the real world, we find that all the developed countries have an educated population. On the other hand undeveloped or less developed countries without any exception have a burden of uneducated people. Some poor countries have even accelerated their development by getting their people educated very fast. Examples include Srilanka, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. All these countries have increased their rate of literacy very quickly which was ensued by a quicker pace of development.
Hence I should say it needs little clarification that education should get more importance than healthcare in terms of getting funds in the annual budget of a country.
Cars and taxicabs are some of the main air pollutants in the present world. Every day millions of private cars ply on the roads of big cities and emit an awesome amount of smoke. Such a large amount of smoke pollutes the air terribly and is making the cities dangerous for living. So, it is imperative to reverse the trend of the increasing number of cars and encourage people to use public transport.
In fact, the world population is increasing /rising, so are the economic activities. Greater economic activities necessitate greater use of transport facilities. So, if we want to decrease the number of cars the only way will be to let people use public transport systems such as buses, subways, trams, and trains.
One way to discourage people to use private cars is to encourage people to use public transport by making public transport systems convenient and comfortable. In the near past, many cities have taken measures to make public transport system easy and handy by arranging car parking facilities near the bus terminals and train stations and improving the service quality of the public transport system. As a result, those cities have been able to attract more passengers who drive part of the distance to the bus or train stations, park their cars, and take the public transports for the major part of the distance. Recently in Bangladesh, we have seen the government take initiative to introduce big and comfortable buses even in the short routes. This step has lessened the numbers of cars and taxies significantly.
The government can take other steps too. Such steps include making cars costly and difficult to maintain. Many cities have introduced tolls along the urban motorways. Other such measures include a yearly tax on cars, increased charges for fitness certificates and road permits, costly permits of parking in urban areas for parking cars, or allowing only a few cars. Such measures make maintaining a car costly and difficult to park everywhere. Consequently, people get discouraged to maintain a car and feel inclined towards using public transport systems.
The statement that poverty is the only reason for crime is a controversial one. There are many people on both sides of the argument.
Many people think poverty is the only cause of crime. When a man is in need he can be involved in crime very easily. There is a proverb that necessity knows no law. So a poor man does not think about other people’s advantages and disadvantages. He thinks only about himself. It does not seem unlawful to him to get what he needs. We can see a higher crime rate in poor regions and countries.
We may also notice that when economic depression occurs in a rich country the rate of crime gets higher than the previous prosperous crime. For example, after the war in Iraq, it was found that the rate of crime increased to a great extent due to the spreading of poverty. For further example, in a recent study, it was found that during different recessions in the current century the rate of crime is pretty higher than that of the time of prosperity in the United States.
On the other hand, some people believe that poverty is not only the cause of crime. A person’s tendency to crime may be influenced by many things such as family history, background, environment, etc. Economic position may also be an influencing factor but it cannot be in any way the only reason for the crime.
