国際教養学部AO入試 supplement, well-being budget - revised -

Read the following article (underlined by Sasaki) and answer the questions.

Forget GDP — New Zealand is prioritizing gross national well-being

The country’s new “well-being budget” emphasizes citizen happiness over capitalist gain.

   By Sigal Samuel  Jun 8, 2019, 8:00am EDT

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/6/8/18656710/new-zealand-wellbeing-budget-bhutan-happiness

 Questions

1.      What is well-being budget?

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

2.      Summarize the criticism.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

3.      What other criticisms can you expect?

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                                

4.      Do you think Japan should take up the same kind of budget policy?

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

                                                                                               

                                                                                                

                                                                                               

Answer Keys

1.      What is well-being budget?

It is a budget plan released by the New Zealand prime minister in 2019. It is the latest of a train of political and economic movement to take not only GDP but also people’s happiness into account in assessing how well a government is functioning. The spending is focused on issues of mental health, child poverty, indigenous peoples, CO2 emissions, and digital age.

2.      Summarize the criticism.

The government should focus on economic policy, so that the country will not become poor. Also, it might be a waste of money to try to solve such formidable problems as addictions and suicides.

3.      What other criticisms can you expect?

The policy might restrict freedom if the government starts to decide what a happy life is and tell people how to behave for happiness as this passage suggests by reporting that Bhutan monitors people’s private life under this policy and similar policies are touted in countries with human rights issues.

4.      Do you think Japan should take up the same kind of budget policy?

As long as the policy does not go too far and restrict freedom, it would be beneficial for Japan to take up the same kind of budget policy because the five allocations of the well-being budget correspond with the issues Japan faces now. Suicide rates of the young have been rising rapidly and horrible crimes caused by mentally-ill individuals have been increasing. Child poverty rate has also been rising with some children having nothing to eat. The government has been taking some measures to tackle the problem, but they do not seem to be enough as thousands of private soup kitchens for children have sprung up over the past few years. Taking care of minority peoples will be imperative, since the number of foreigners is expected to increase after the change of the immigration law. Carbon foot print reduction is a global issue, and Japan is behind in digital revolution. Without solving these issues, especially when many children starving and adults stressed out, Japan, a country without many resources, will not be able to endure the challenges of the 21st century.