The Public about Public Services and Life without Them - Coursework Example

What is public about public services? Can we live without them? Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Public services are services which are provided by the state authorities or the government of the country in whose jurisdiction the public come under. The public services are provided to the common people by the government either by funding the provision of different services or directly through the public sector facilities. Public services play a major role in creating a social consensus, expressed by the democratic elections. The social consensus encompasses the fact that certain public services and facilities would be provided to all the people in the jurisdiction without the consideration of the income levels of different groups of people. The public services are subject to the government regulations which encompass the economic sectors. The public services are publicly financed and publicly provided in all the democratic countries across the globe. The public services provided by the government are incorporated to help the public and support the public in various areas of their living. The major types of public services provided by governments and state authorities in different countries are fire brigade, transportation, electricity, water, gas, army, police, and paramedic which are aimed at protecting the people of a country as well as improving the living standards of the people and the economic conditions of the society in the long run. Discussion A public service is that service which the government provides directly or by part financing to a state or an area under its jurisdiction. These are types of service which should be available to all irrespective of their income. These services are generally emergency and essential services. These services generally include army, police, fire services etc. and have a role in protecting the public. Public services should be guaranteed for moral reasons to all and can be treated as human rights. Public services are generally essential services and do not involve manufacturing of goods. One of the most prominent examples of public services is Fire service. It is a type of emergency service available to the public at the time of emergencies. Fire personnel are trained and recruited by the government for the well-being and public protection in natural-disaster hit areas or places. Some more public services include public library, electricity, gas, law enforcement, public housing, public transportation, military etc. Electricity services provided to the public have become of the most important public services for the modern world. Electricity has now become an essential service and hence it is moving towards becoming a private service from public service since the takers of this service are increasing day by day. Nobody can imagine a couple of hours without electricity as without this service, everyone’s life would come to a standstill. In modern world like this, where gadgets are becoming more and more important in our day to day life, absence of electricity is unimaginable. We cannot imagine a day without electricity as most of our day to day work requires the usage of electricity right from charging the mobile phone to commuting through the subway rail. Telecommunications is another such service without which life is unimaginable. Whatever we do in our day to day life requires us to be connected to others by mail, post, call, messaging or internet. All these services come under public services and are provided for the public by the government. The public services like infrastructure development and public transportation play key roles in attracting foreign direct investments and thru are considered to be imrp0athjnt drivers of economic growth. The developed infrastructural capabilities in a country act as a positive factor in making foreign multinational to open up their business in the country. This in turn adds to the financial and economic growth and devolvement in different sectors of the country. Other public services like medical facilities are also critical to ensure the health and wellness of the people, in a country. Ensuring that the people in a country are safe and secured and live on an environment of security and positivity is a part of the responsibility of the government. Therefore, the public services like medical facilities, army, military, environmental protections etc. are important in maintaining the health and safety of the common public in the country. The public services are extremely beneficial and necessary for the general public because they reflect the attitude and sense of responsibility of the government towards its people and help in nurturing a positive social environment in the country as well as in improving the economic and financial conditions of a country. The public services are considered to be essential elements in the modern day social and economic scenario. The provision of proper public services guarantees moral and economic support to the public. In the light of the critical role of public services in shaping up a modern society, it has been identified that the public services should follow a universal provision system. The public services are important in moral, social and economic terms because of the different objectives of these services. The services are aimed at improving the lives of people by catering to the social needs and requirements of the general public without differentiating on the basis of their income levels1. These services may range from medical services to cure illnesses, repairing public facilities to helping a person morally based on humanity. The public services in all countries have become a necessity for the smooth functioning of the state authorities as well as for the improvement of the society and community as a whole. The most common public services are electivity, education, environmental protection, gas supply, fire services, law enforcement, heath care, military, public transportation,. public broadcasting, postal services, town planning, social services, telecommunication, public housing, water supply, waste management and public security. All these services can be identified to be absolutely necessary in the functioning of a modern day society. The public services may have the inherent characteristics of public goods being non excludable. But mostly, the public services are incorporated under the prevailing social regulations and are not sufficiently provided in the market. Mostly, the public services are services and facilities which do not constitute the manufacture and production of goods. Public services are provided by the national and local monopolistic organizations and sectors. This is especially applicable in the sectors which are naturally monopolistic in nature2. The public services generally involve difficult to attribute individual efforts and are often non measurable under the characteristics of quality. Public services encompass the work of people which are eager to give back to the society and the community by acting in adherence to the state laws and norms. In most of the developed countries across the globe, the public services are provided by the state authorities. However, in certain countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom, public services are provided through private monopolistic parties as well because of the social structure prevailing in these countries. Since many public services are subsidized to make them commonly accessible by the public, these services often add to the development of a society and community. The public services started with the provision of basic necessities like water, gas, electricity supply etc. However, today public services have emerged as a key benefiter to the economy of a country. Therefore, more and more focus is being given by the governments of different developed as well as developing countries to provide public services at low costs in a wide range of domains varying from education to utilities to healthcare facilities. This has made public services critical in the lives of the general people. The public services help the people of a country to access the basic necessities of their day to day lives as well as the critical services required during emergencies. The public services play a crucial role in the modern society because they aim at meeting the basic to the augmented needs of the people as well as provide for safety and security of the nationals of a country3. The public services are known to positively impact the economy of a country. The collection of taxes help to establish a strong financial position for the country as well as help the nation to invest more towards providing the services and facilities which would otherwise be too expensive for the public to access. This benefits both the people of the country as well as the government of the country because the people get access to different spruces through minimal payments while the government can collect money in the form of taxes whole providing suitable services to the people4. The public services are necessary because they act as a key medium to reduce inequalities in the society of the nation by positively impacting the quality and the costs of living. Since we get these public services uninterrupted, its value is hardly ascertained by us. We know the real value of these services in the absence of it. Any developed nation has more of public services in place to give its citizens a higher standard of living which they deserve. Public services are generally funded by the taxes the people pay. So these taxes are utilized in providing them a better quality of living5. The public services models should be aimed at ensuring proactivity in supporting and understanding the aspirations and needs of the citizens along with guaranteeing the provision and access of proper facilities sand services. The public services should not be passive and narrow and should encompass traditional stricture combined with modern facilities. Another implant consideration for public services should be that the public can gain access to various services and facilities at low expenses while being assured of high quality. The provision of high quality public services at low costs without any differentiation based on income and social status helps to develop a positive social outlook in any country6. Upward accountability is an important part of the public services. The efficient provision of public services helped to solidify the belief of the people on the government and thus, is extremely critical in a democratic country. The proviso of public services is also important for the functioning of a nation because if these services were provided by the private entities, the cost of these services would have been much higher. Also, the provision of the services would have been inconsistent and biased towards the people who could afford to pay more for the services. The fact that the state authorities or the governments are the controllers and providers of the public services helps to ensure that all the citizens of the country, irrespective of their social position or income levels can access the benefits of the public services without any discrepancy. Therefore, the public services can be identified to be extremely necessary for maintaining and improving the social, economic and moral factors in a nation. Conclusion Public services act as a base for social settlement in any country, irrespective of whether it is a developed or a developing country. The efficient provision of public services facilitate the belief of people on their ruling government , help to improve the social and economic conditions of a country as well as instigate a sense of responsibility among the citizens towards the country and towards other citizens. A modern day life without the provision of public services is unimaginable due to the high importance and wide use of public services in the day to day lives of people living in the modern society. Also, the public services foster equality of the citizens in a nation thereby creating a positive outlook in the country. The different ways of intervention into the living styles and standard of people through the provision of public facilities and utilities ensure that an equality of opportunity is maintained for different class of the nationals. This way inequality and biased practices can be minimized while improving the lives of the people and the social conditions of the people in a country. References Hellerstein, W. & Coenen, D. T. Commerce Clause Restraints on State Business Development Incentives. Cornell Law Review. Vol. 81(4), pp.789–878. 2000. Holcombe, R. G. & Lacombe, D. J. The effect of state income taxation on per capital income growth. Public Finance Review. Vol. 32(3), pp. 293-312, 2004. Joseph, P. & Goss, E. The effect of state and local taxes on economic development: a meta-analysis. Southern economic journal. Vol. 62(1), pp.320-323, 2005. McGuire, T. Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?’ National Tax Journal. Vol. 84(1), pp. 457–459, 2002. Patridge, M. High tech employment and state economic development policies. The Review of Regional Studies. Vol. 23(1), pp.287-303, 1999. Zax, J. & Ichniowski, C. The Effects of Public Sector Unionism on Pay, Employment, Department Budgets, and Municipal Expenditures, 2000. http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7915.pdf. [Accessed on 10 May 2014]. Read More