GRE Argument Analysis - 1.1

Question
Statistics gathered over the past three decades show that the death rate is higher among those who do not have jobs than among those with regular employment. Unemployment, just like heart disease and cancer, is a significant health issue. While many health care advocates promote increased government funding for medical research and public health care, it would be folly to increase government spending if doing so were to affect the nation's economy adversely and ultimately cause a rise in unemployment. A healthy economy means healthy citizens.


Response:

The goal of an economy is the sustained prosperity of the people it represents. It tries to achieve this goal through efficient allocation of resources, price stability, trade with other nations, good health care or full employment. The above argument delves into how health care and employment are inter related, and why it is crucial for an economy to properly allocate resources between these two metrics to achieve its premier goal.

The author rightly points out that unemployment is an health issue. This relation is apparent as unemployment leads to poverty, which is, in turn the breeding ground for many diseases. An unemployed individual would not be able to afford clean food and hygienic surrounds, falling prey to even the most innocent fevers. The situation could become worse as it is the individuals with low immunity who easily fall prey to dangerous flue such as the H1N1. Flu and plagues such as these have dire consequences not only for the economy of the nation, but of the entire world.

This intuitiveness of thought is also supported by statistics of the past three decades which show that unemployed people fell prey to dangerous diseases which lead to increased death rates among them. It is not only the food, water and environment which are the enemy of the unemployed; it is also their mind. An unemployed individual would be constantly under stress that can be self imposed or external. Scientific studies have shown that it is stress and mental tension which is the source of many dangerous diseases including heart attack, paralysis and various forms of organ failure. Peace of mind is central to a healthy human life, which is difficult to find among the unemployed.

In these scenarios there is an added pressure on the nation to provide for extra health care to curb the situation. This leads to a domino effect in which the nation ends up playing the honest defender against the deteriorating health condition. There is less and less to invest in creating jobs, producing food and resources; while medicine is constantly burning a hole in its pocket.


The author rightly hints that the solution to a pervading health issue isn't blindly investing in health care. Subsidizing health care, having more hospitals, private clinics and doctors makes sense if it isn't done at the cost of education, employment, foreign trade, industry and agriculture. The solution is to have a system in place which is self sustaining, productive and prosperous. Employability of the the younger generation and employment of the current has a central role to play in making this system possible.