preview

Argumentative Essay On National Parks

Decent Essays

One of the most important aspects of American culture is the long history of conservation that very few countries have, thanks to the National Park Service, which is a Federal institution. The United States possesses some of the best­preserved landmarks in the world. However, in recent years, the government has proposed budget cuts to the NPS, which will severely limit its ability to properly maintain the parks. Because of the economic and historical importance of the parks, the NPS should be a priority to our nation.
The economic worth of the NPS landmarks far outweighs the amount of funding they receive from the federal government. Cutting funds, as it has been done in recent years, reduce the high economic value of the parks, despite the population supporting more funding for the parks. Linda Bilmes and John Loomis state that “Americans put a total value of US$92 billion per year on our national parks”(1 ). This amount is based on a questionnaire asking people how much they would pay in taxes to preserve the parks. People are willing to pay more money than what the government funds the NPS with, which according to the same source, it only amounts to $3 billion yearly. It is unjust to fund the NPS with this kind of money because of the value on the whole of it, but lawmakers are not willing to …show more content…

Many will argue that funding our military and infrastructure is much more important than funding the NPS. However, the United States was able to fund great programs that benefited the American people in the 20th century and still prioritize the NPS. If the country was able to fun the NPS in the tumultuous 20th century, then it must be able to fund it in the 21st century. Taxpayers are willing to contribute, so money is not an issue. Moreover, it would make much more sense to fund the NPS with all the deficit money spent by the

Get Access