Being RichPosted on December 11, 2011 by writefix

Some people say that the best thing about being rich is being able to help other people. What do you think?

What does being rich mean? Does it mean having the most expensive cars, the biggest houses and the most luxurious holidays? Or does it mean being able to use your money to do what you want, enjoying yourself and helping others at the same time? In this essay I will discuss if rich people have a responsibility to help others, and if only rich people can help others.

To begin with, I think being rich is a very relative term. If I have 20 dollars and my friend has only 5, then I am richer than him, even though to a millionaire we are both poor. But I can still help him: we have enough for a meal or two.

Almost all of us, rich or poor, are able to help others. Some people give publicly, while others give without expecting anything in return- not publicity, not a payback, not even gratitude. Some people give time, which can be more valuable than money. Others give expertise or knowledge. Some just give a hand, literally.

Although their time may be limited, rich people also can do all of these, but they can also help in other ways. They are often powerful, and can help change opinions or laws. They have rich friends and together their money and connections can make a difference to an entire society, not just an individual person.

We often hear millionaires say that they want to ‘give something back’- to the community, to their old school, to their sport, or sometimes even to poor people. Bill Gates has his Foundation, fighting malaria and other diseases. But often these gifts come with strings – the rich person is promoting him or herself, saving money on taxes, or just fooling himself that a few million out of a billionaire’s fortune is really helping others. Rich people therefore have to examine their reasons for helping other people to see if they are really just helping themselves.

Perhaps we should be slower to criticize people who help, and quicker to help others ourselves. There will always be poor people in the world; equally, there will always be rich. But whether rich or poor we can all choose to help each other in different ways.

Related Posts:

Healthcare: Unlimited and available to all?Posted on November 20, 2011 by writefix

Does everyone have the right to the best healthcare, regardless of cost?

Some of us are lucky to live in parts of the world with excellent medical care. However, even in rich countries, health authorities have to make tough decisions because of the staggering costs of new procedures and medicines: who gets which treatment? Which patient is more deserving? In this essay I will discuss if universal healthcare is really possible.

There are several reasons why it is ridiculous to expect free or subsidized medical care indefinitely. First of all, every country has a limited health care budget. Money must be spent where it can do the most good for the most people. Second, many expensive treatments are experimental or a last resort. The patient may have already cost the government a small fortune. A third and harsh point is that we need sometimes to let nature take its course. For example, prolonging the life of someone in suffering, just because we can, is sometimes not the answer.

However, it’s also natural to fight for life. We rejoice when we hear stories of babies saved by incredible medical intervention or of difficult surgeries that successfully repair faces, hands and bodies. A related point is that we hope that these costly procedures will become routine and more widely available. Heart surgery was revolutionary in the 1960s but is now commonplace. Finally, most people understand the need for healthcare premiums, within reason, even if they never get sick. They are happy to share the burden of insurance if they know that they and their families are protected.

In conclusion, deciding who deserves which treatments is immensely difficult. We need to accept that there are limits to what medicine can do, as well as to how much we can spend on it.