In IELTS writing task 2, it is quite common to be asked about how governments should spend their money. In fact, I see this so frequently that it is almost a unique topic!

Today, I want to show you a few essays about government spending, looking at some sample answers and language points so that you can better understand how to approach this sort of essay.

Government Spending Essays for Task 2

First of all, let’s look at three IELTS task 2 questions that deal with government spending:

The prevention of health problems and illness is more important than treatment and medicine. Government funding should reflect this.

To what extent do you agree?

The world today is a safer place than it was a hundred years ago, and governments should stop spending large amounts of money on their armed forces.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

The restoration of old buildings in major cities around the world causes enormous government expenditure. This money should be used for new housing and road development.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The first question is about how governments should spend money on healthcare, the second is about whether or not they should spend money for military purposes, and the third is about maintaining old buildings. As you can see, then, the issue of government funding could be applied to a range of areas.

Also, note the different words and phrases used to introduce the idea of government spending. In the first, it is “government funding,” in the second, “spending” is a verb,” and in the third, it says “government expenditure.”

Vocabulary about Government Spending

When it comes to the topic of government spending, you obviously need to be able to discuss money and specifically large amounts of money. You need to know words and phrases related to government expenditure. Here are some useful ones:

Budget(noun) an annual or other regular estimate of national revenue and expenditure put forward by a finance ministerProtestors want the government to review the budget and reduce the amount devoted to military spending.
Expenditure(noun) the action of spending fundsGovernment expenditure has been out of control and they need to reign it in.
Expense(noun) the cost incurred in or required for somethingPeople assume that road maintenance is simple, but actually it is a huge expense for local governments.
Fund(verb) provide with money for a particular purposeWe need to fund the development of new technologies to produce renewable energy.
Funding(noun) money provided, especially by an organisation or government, for a particular purposeGovernment funding for agriculture has been dropping off in recent years and farmers are struggling.
Invest(verb) put (money) into financial schemes, shares, property, or a commercial venture with the expectation of achieving a profitIt is important to invest in emerging technologies.
Vast sums(phrase) large amountsGovernments often spend vast sums of money on defence, but many people believe it would be more prudent to invest it in education.
Wasteful(adj.) using or expending something of value carelesslyMany countries are poor because their governments are extremely wasteful with foreign aid.

All of these words and phrases will be used in my sample answers below.

You can also see some money idioms here:

When it comes to money verbs, don’t forget that we need to collocate them with certain prepositions. Typically, we say “spend money on”, “invest money in,” or “allocate money for”. There are other common collocations as well. Here are a few examples:

  • He spent his birthday money on a new pair of shoes.
  • She spent most of her budget on building a social media following.
  • We’re going to invest in Apple.
  • They invested too much money in that doomed project.
  • We saved money on our gas bill by switching providers.

Finally, be careful with the word “budget.” This is one word that I see misused very frequently in IELTS essays. Here is a visual lesson about it, which I posted on Facebook.

You can learn more money vocabulary and also look at some IELTS speaking questions about money in this lesson.

Sample Answers

Ok, now let’s look at my answers to the above questions. These contain the vocabulary I taught you. Take note of how those words and phrases are used.

Essay #1: Government Spending on Healthcare

The prevention of health problems and illness is more important than treatment and medicine. Government funding should reflect this.

To what extent do you agree?

In many countries, government spending on healthcare is a major economic burden. Problems like obesity and heart disease are crippling healthcare systems, and some people suggest that rather than raise taxes to pay for treatments, more money should be invested in preventing these illnesses in the first place. This essay will argue that prevention is better than treatment.

The most obvious benefit of putting prevention before treatment is the reduction in human suffering that would inevitably result. Some of the biggest health problems in modern societies are utterly preventable, and therefore it is reasonable to suggest that money spent this way would cause less anguish. Government campaigns to reduce smoking would reduce cancer rates and this would increase people’s quality of life, and of course end the suffering of people who lose loved ones.

From a purely financial standpoint, it is beneficial to focus on preventing sickness rather than curing it. The cost of treating sick people with expensive medical procedures, equipment, and medicines is vastly higher than the cost of educating people not to smoke, eat unhealthily, or otherwise lead unhealthy lifestyles. Government campaigns have led to huge decreases in smoking in many Western countries, and it is likely that similar campaigns would yield similar results elsewhere. An additional benefit would be the lowering of taxes due to reduced expenditure on healthcare.

In conclusion, preventing a disease makes more sense than waiting to treat it. The benefits to average people and also to governments are significantly higher than simply investing in treatments.

Essay #2: Government Spending on Military

The world today is a safer place than it was a hundred years ago, and governments should stop spending large amounts of money on their armed forces.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

In many developed countries, people discuss the ethics of government spending on military forces, with many people pointing out that it is wasteful. This essay will suggest that they are probably right, but that it is a more complicated situation than they think.

To begin with, it is clear that some countries spend vast sums of money on their militaries when there are many other problems that could be tackled using that money. Between the USA and China, for example, more than $1 trillion is spent per year on equipping their various armed forces and this money could potentially have been invested into protecting the environment, ending homelessness and hunger, or improving education systems. Given that these two nations are highly unlikely to be attacked by any other, it seems absurd that they invest so much money in this way.

However, all of that overlooks the fact that geopolitics is complicated and human nature has some dark elements. Although people live in an unprecedented era of peace, it is nonetheless true that this peace is not guaranteed and that it is predicated to some extent upon the fear of reprisals. The US may seem incredibly wasteful with its military spending, but if it did not maintain such a huge military, other aggressive nations would surely attack their neighbours. They are dissuaded of this by the threat of American intervention. Whilst this is highly problematic as no single country should function as a “world police,” it has certainly helped deter and even end major conflicts over the past half century.

In conclusion, it is not easy to say whether countries should stop spending so much money on their militaries. Indeed, whilst it appears this is a reasonable suggestion, the truth is more complicated.

Essay #3: Government Spending on Old Buildings

The restoration of old buildings in major cities around the world causes enormous government expenditure. This money should be used for new housing and road development.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Government spending is a highly controversial issue because people naturally have different priorities and beliefs. Some of them think that the money spent on the restoration of old buildings is wasteful, but this essay will argue against that notion, suggesting instead that these are essential pieces of a nation’s heritage.

To begin with, it is understandable that people might feel this way because there are numerous ways that a national budget might be spent, and old buildings are probably not high on most people’s lists. However, not everything that is important is obvious and often people do not realise the value of something until it is gone. Around Asia, for example, many countries underwent the same sort of industrial development in just two or three decades that Europe went through over a period of several centuries. As a result, these countries lost most of their ancient buildings, and these cannot be recovered. Many governments fund the construction of replicas, but these obviously lack the authenticity of truly ancient buildings.

Letting these buildings fall into ruin shows a staggering lack of civic pride. Cities and countries must unite to fund the maintenance of important shared spaces, including these historic sites. Without these places, cities begin to look unremarkable and it is hard to tell one place from another. Whilst it is important to devote spending to new projects, governments must not overlook the heritage aspect that defined their city or country over a long period of time, and which continues to mark it in the modern era.

In conclusion, old buildings may seem like a waste of money because they can be expensive to maintain, but they are important in various ways, and so governments should set aside funding to ensure their upkeep.