It is no secret that both individuals and governments tend to spend a large sum of money on both national celebrations and festivals alike. Argued by many, is that this spending pattern is exuberant and entirely unnecessary. However, others believe that the spending is entirely justified and, despite the large sums involved, actually entirely reasonable in such circumstances. I personally agree with the latter sentiment, and through this essay will explain why that is the case.
To begin with, the argument generally brought forth by anti-spending advocates is that for both individuals and governments, the amount of spending is a major waste. Firstly, when it comes to individuals, the amount spent by an average Joe on an average day may not even amount to a hundred dollars. However when it comes to the festive seasons, the spending could skyrocket to thousands of dollars. This is due to additional costs of travel, accommodation, merchandises and other categories of expenditure that is incurred during the occasions. Obviously, all these extra money could have been saved, if they so choose to not attend the occasion. Secondly, with governments, it is often known that they could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions or tens of millions on national celebrations and festivals; which could have been used to support other considerations, such as enhancing education or combating poverty. For example, this same amount of money could allow many more children to attend school, or perhaps even directly feed the hungry.
On the other hand, there are good reasons for such expenditures during these special events as well. For individuals, many of these occasions are the only times during the year they could take a break from their busy work life and re-unite with loved ones, or perhaps even just take some time off to truly enjoy life. After all, money is only a tool to live a life, and for many, nothing else could constitute a worthwhile life than good times spent, especially with their close ones. Therefore, to them, the amount of money they have to spend is entirely justified, even if the amount really is much more than on average. As for government spending, it is often necessary to look past the face value, given that much of it could generate much more money for the government than what has been used up. For example, many national celebrations that involves the use of fireworks could already amount to millions of dollars of spending, for that just one event. However, that same event could garner a large amount of international interest, drawing in large swathes of tourists that of course would contribute to the nation’s economy. Additionally, such events could also promote the nation’s image to the world, which could very well be entirely priceless.
Therefore, it is clear that there are both advocates for and against the high spendings of individuals and governments during national celebrations and festivals. However, it is clear that the simple belief that governmental spendings during such occasions could be better spent elsewhere is rather short-sighted, as such spending could generate much more money, which then in turn could be even better applied elsewhere. Additionally, despite whether or not individuals could indeed save money during celebrations and festivals, it is nonetheless their own personal choices. In the end, if they find that it is worthwhile, then the spending is never too much.
In conclusion, it is clear that spending by governments and individuals, whilst a lot, should definitely not be regarded as over the top. Perhaps for governments specifically, it is important to be more transparent with their expenditures, profits and re-investments, so that it is clear where money goes to exactly, and hence being entirely visible as to what the spendings amount to. Otherwise, spending amounts can be continued as is.