CHAPTER 30 OF 30
Government & Public Spending
5 Sual
50 İdeya
24 Termin
Etiket ideyanın ən uyğun olduğu esse növünü göstərir; ideyanın yalnız həmin növdə istifadə oluna biləcəyi demək deyil.
Where Public Money Should Go
SUAL
Some people believe governments should spend public money on immediate needs such as healthcare, while others argue it should go into long-term projects such as research and infrastructure. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS
5
1
Healthcare and housing affect people who are suffering now, not in twenty years’ time.
DV
2
A government that neglects basic services loses the public consent it needs to govern.
OP
3
Money spent on prevention — vaccination, school meals — costs far less than the crisis it avoids.
AD
4
Long-term projects are often abandoned when the next government arrives, wasting everything spent.
DV
5
Countries with urgent poverty cannot justify prestige spending while people go without.
OP
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT
5
1
Infrastructure and research create the tax revenue that funds services later.
DV
2
Some problems — climate, an ageing population — only get more expensive the longer they are left.
PS
3
Research produces spin-off benefits nobody planned, from medicine to communications.
AD
4
Spending only on immediate needs traps a country in permanent crisis management.
OP
5
Private investors will not fund projects that take thirty years to pay back, so the state must.
DV
Free Public Services or Charging for Them
SUAL
Essential services such as healthcare, education and public transport should be free for everyone. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
FREE AT THE POINT OF USE
5
1
Charging means the poorest go without treatment until their condition becomes an emergency.
OP
2
Services everyone uses attract broader political support than services only the poor use.
DV
3
Collecting fees creates an administrative cost that can exceed the money raised.
AD
4
Access to healthcare and schooling is widely regarded as a basic right, not a purchase.
OP
5
Free public transport cuts congestion and emissions in a way fare subsidies do not.
PS
CHARGED FOR
5
1
Nothing is genuinely free — the cost simply moves to taxpayers, including those who never use it.
OP
2
A small charge discourages people from using a service they do not really need.
AD
3
Fee income lets a service improve rather than merely survive.
DV
4
Those who can comfortably afford to pay have no strong claim to a subsidy.
OP
5
Free provision tends to produce long waiting times, which is a cost paid in a different currency.
AD
Regulating Personal Behaviour
SUAL
Governments increasingly pass laws about personal habits, such as taxes on sugar and bans on smoking in public. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
FOR
5
1
Individual choices such as smoking impose costs on a health system everyone pays for.
AD
2
Sugar taxes have measurably changed what manufacturers put in their products.
AD
3
Seat belts and helmets were resisted at first and are now uncontroversial.
DV
4
People cannot make free choices when advertising and addiction are shaping them.
OP
5
Laws protect those who cannot protect themselves, particularly children.
OP
AGAINST
5
1
Adults are entitled to make decisions others consider unwise.
OP
2
Such taxes fall hardest on low-income households, who spend a larger share of income on food.
AD
3
Education changes behaviour more durably than prohibition.
DV
4
Every accepted restriction makes the next one easier to introduce.
OP
5
Bans push activity into unregulated markets rather than ending it.
PS
Decisions Made Locally or Nationally
SUAL
In many countries, power is being transferred from central government to local authorities. Why is this happening, and do you think it is a positive development?
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
5
1
Local officials know which problems in their area are actually urgent.
TQ
2
Residents can identify and remove the people responsible for local decisions.
DV
3
Different regions face genuinely different problems, so one national rule fits none of them well.
TQ
4
Smaller authorities can try new approaches that would be too risky nationally.
AD
5
People are more willing to accept a decision made by neighbours than by a distant ministry.
OP
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
5
1
Only national government can stop wealthy regions pulling far ahead of poor ones.
DV
2
Standards in health and education should not depend on which town a child is born in.
OP
3
Large projects — rail, energy, flood defence — cross local boundaries by their nature.
TQ
4
Duplicating administration in every district is expensive.
AD
5
Small authorities are easier for local interests to capture and corrupt.
PS
Falling Trust in Government
SUAL
In many countries, public trust in government is declining. What are the causes of this, and what could be done to reverse it?
CAUSES
5
1
Promises made during election campaigns are quietly dropped afterwards.
PS
2
Corruption scandals suggest that officials serve themselves rather than the public.
PS
3
Living standards have stagnated while those at the top have done visibly well.
PS
4
Social media spreads distrust faster and further than any correction can follow.
PS
5
Official language is deliberately vague, which people read as evasion.
PS
SOLUTIONS
5
1
Publish budgets and spending in a form ordinary citizens can actually read.
PS
2
Give an independent body real power to investigate officials.
PS
3
Involve residents directly in decisions through local consultation and citizens’ assemblies.
PS
4
Report honestly on what a policy failed to achieve, not only on what worked.
PS
5
Teach media literacy in schools so voters can judge claims for themselves.
PS
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SPENDING · WORD BANK · 24 Termin
Faydalı anlayışlar
& akademik lüğət
Termin · Məna · Kollokasiya və nümunə cümlələr.
01
public spending
n
Money a government spends on services and projects.
cuts to public spending
02
the public purse
n
The money available to a government.
a drain on the public purse
03
to allocate funds
v
Universal
To decide what money will be used for.
allocate funds to social housing
04
a budget deficit
n
Spending more than is raised in revenue.
close the budget deficit
05
fiscal policy
n
Government decisions on taxing and spending.
a tighter fiscal policy
06
the tax base
n
The total income and wealth a government can tax.
broaden the tax base
07
ring-fenced funding
n
Money that may be spent only on a stated purpose.
ring-fenced funding for social care
08
means-tested
adj
Given only to those below an income level.
means-tested benefits
09
universal provision
n
A service given to everyone regardless of income.
universal provision of primary care
10
free at the point of use
idiom
Paid for by taxes rather than by the user.
healthcare free at the point of use
11
paternalism
n
Universal
Restricting people’s freedom for their own good.
charges of state paternalism
12
a sin tax
n
A tax on goods regarded as harmful.
a sin tax on tobacco and alcohol
13
a levy
n
A charge imposed by government.
a levy on sugary drinks
14
civil liberties
n
Universal
The freedoms a state may not remove.
erode civil liberties
15
a mandate
n
Authority given to a government by voters.
claim a mandate for reform
16
accountability
n
Universal
Being required to explain and answer for decisions.
democratic accountability
17
transparency
n
Universal
Openness about how decisions are made.
greater transparency in procurement
18
bureaucracy
n
Universal
Official procedure and administration, often excessive.
layers of bureaucracy slow delivery
19
devolution
n
Transferring power from central to local government.
devolution to regional assemblies
20
a regional disparity
n
A difference in wealth or services between areas.
widening regional disparities
21
a postcode lottery
idiom
Getting better or worse services depending on where you live.
a postcode lottery in cancer care
22
lobbying
n
Universal
Trying to influence politicians on behalf of an interest.
heavy lobbying by the food industry
23
a citizens’ assembly
n
A group of ordinary people convened to advise on policy.
a citizens’ assembly on climate policy
24
to restore confidence
v
Universal
To make people trust something again.
restore confidence in public institutions
Axtarışa uyğun termin tapılmadı.