As housing is a basic need for people, governments should provide free housing for everyone who cannot afford it. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
ESSAY #423 FROM OUR BOOK
It is believed by some that to tackle homelessness, governments have the obligation to provide free homes to everyone. While it is the onus of the government to ease the life of people, I disagree that it should provide free housing to all as it would not be a practical and sustainable solution to homelessness and would annoy the taxpayers.
First of all, if government started providing homes to all the people, it would imbalance the economy. The government has so much on its shoulders. Providing basic education and healthcare and maintaining other infrastructure of the country, is also the onus of the government. Moreover, the taxpayers would not be happy about it as their money, which they pay as taxes, would be helping some people who may be unemployed just to get government benefits. Finally, if people knew they would get free housing, they would stop working hard and become complacent. Such a policy would not be good for the economy of any country.
Undoubtedly, it is the responsibility of the governments to improve the living standards of the poorer sections of the society. For example, it can offer low cost housing to people below the poverty line. In India, for example, the government has launched several schemes to provide housing and employment to people. Although the country still faces these problems, the situation has improved considerably in recent years. This is a clear indication that political willpower and proper governance can improve the economic status of a country and its people.
To sum up, it is difficult for governments to provide free housing to all its citizens. Of course, the governments have a role to play in easing the problem of homelessness, but cannot, and should not provide free housing to all.
