GMAT Essays (AWA)

"Some people claim that the measure of a successful government is in how well it directly supports the poorer members of society. Others claim that if the government focuses on lifting the wealthier members, the benefits will reverberate throughout the social structure and the standard of living will rise for everyone."

In my view, the government should support the less privileged members of the society who cannot sustain themselves. Bolstering the wealthier members of the society will not achieve the desired results as the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer. The gap between the rich and the poor would keep on widening that is undesirable for any successful economy.

In today's world there are very few people with altruistic motives and most of the entrepreneurs are engrossed in earning profits for their businesses and are apathetic towards the weaker section of the society. This is especially true in a developing country such as India where corruption has become synonymous with the rich and the elite class of the society. If government focuses on lifting these wealthier members, wealth would be accumulated in a few hands with no trickle-down effects for the society. There are many programs initiated by the government for the upliftment of the poor such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Public Distribution System, Minimum wage etc. However, the full benefits of these programs are never reaped by the poor. For example, the subsidized food grains and other items meant for the poor are often hoarded by the middlemen (the wealthier members) and routed towards the creation of a black market where the same rationalized items are then sold to the poor at higher prices. So when the wealthier are already snatching the rights of the poor, how can we expect that the governmental efforts towards the development of the richer class will benefit the poorer class.

The developmental works carried out by the government such as schools that provide free education to the poorer members,government aided hospitals providing free treatment, will be hampered if the government shifts its focus from the poorer to the wealthier sections. The poorer members would be left at the mercy of the richer individuals. For example, with the help of the government support, richer individuals will be able to establish new businesses and might import raw materials. This would deprive the poor of his little income too as he would face competition from the imported material. The craftsmen of the rural India in 1980s were replaced by the big businesses leaving the poor poorer.

Hence, the government should direct its efforts on the poorer members of the society and perhaps once they are above the poverty line, the government can shift its focus on the middle-class segment of the society.