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The Minister of Finance with the truth about the cost of living: we are starting to see results - voila! Of money

2022-07-31T05:16:13.978Z


"Israel is an expensive country, and I see the increases in price as well as the decreases. There are no magic solutions in lowering the cost of living, and this has been my mission since I assumed the position of Minister of Finance"


The Minister of Finance with the truth about the cost of living: we are starting to see results

Israel is an expensive country, and I, as a citizen, as a father and a grandfather who shops, see the price increases as well as the discounts.

There are no magic solutions in lowering the cost of living, and this has been my mission since I took office as Minister of Finance

Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Finance

31/07/2022

Sunday, July 31, 2022, 07:40 Updated: 08:02

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It's time to face reality - Israel is an expensive country.

It is true that in 2009 the cost of living was similar to the average in developed countries, but in 2020 we "won" to be the second most expensive country in the world.



I was not born finance minister.

First of all, I am a citizen, a father and a grandfather, who shops at the supermarket and goes into the grocery store every week.

I see the changes in the prices of the products every month, I see that there are products that become more expensive and I see products that become cheaper.



That's why it's important for me to say two things:



First thing -

I understand you.

I live among my people

, and not only in the Israel of 2022. I was with you in 2012, when the price of a liter of fuel was NIS 8.25, and I was also with you in 2014, when electricity prices were at an all-time high - and all this when the average salary was significantly lower than today.



Second thing - the

cost of living in Israel is not fate

.

Behind the big headline "the cost of living" is often the government, which can do and act to lower it.

But next to the government are also, and sometimes mainly, companies, monopolies, cartels, heavy regulation and conservative regulators, who act in a sly way and take advantage of the consumer public that finances them and boosts their profits in the most cynical way.

There are no magic solutions in lowering the cost of living, and even the most elaborate show of populism will not bring a solution in an instant.

Among the actions to lower the cost of living: "The reform in agriculture, the results of which are already visible today with the decrease in the fruit and vegetable index" (Photo: None)

From the moment I took office, about a year and a month ago, I made it my goal to make dramatic structural changes, which have one goal - lowering the cost of living.

The import reform

, which adopts the European standardization in imports to Israel, the reform which will lead to a reduction of unnecessary regulation in the various stages of the production chain, a dramatic reduction in tariffs, which will reduce bureaucracy and reduce costs, and

the reform in agriculture

, the results of which are already seen today with the decrease in the fruit and vegetable index.

These steps, along with other responsible steps, will already in the near future increase competition, strengthen the power of consumers, and in the end, of course, will also lead to lower prices that will be felt in the pockets of each and every one of you.



Extravagant and irresponsible conduct during the Corona period in Israel, the war between Russia and Ukraine and other global phenomena - we were not spared either, and we all feel the impact on the economy at the macro and micro level.

Alongside this, I am obliged to look reality in the eye, and alongside the fact that price increases in Israel are among the lowest in the world, I continue to work every day, hour by hour to minimize the increase in the cost of living.



We have reduced, and tomorrow we will reduce even more, the

excise tax on fuel

.

We took steps to

increase the disposable income

of the citizens, with an emphasis on working populations and disadvantaged populations, and through NIS 11 billion we helped 2.4 million citizens face the challenges of the time.



We

awarded credit points, job grants and after-school subsidies

.

We raised the

living expenses of IDF soldiers

, increased the

wages of social workers

, the

A grant for Holocaust survivors

, the

income supplement allowance for retirees

, and we gave

grants to assistants, firefighters and police officers

.



We did not stop for a moment and acted sharply so that the income available to each and every one of us would be used for more products and services. My mission was not completed.

In the challenging times we are in, we must not be dragged, and I will not allow being dragged, into an election economy.



But at the same time, it is unthinkable that in the challenging times we are facing there are cynical elements in Israel who take advantage of the concentrated market, the lack of alternatives and the heavy regulation, and choose in this difficult time to raise the prices of the high products anyway.

The policy of those companies is distorted and contrary to all logic - "if our profits soar, then we soar our prices", and all this at the expense of the citizens of Israel.

"We have reduced, and tomorrow we will reduce even more, the excise duty on fuel" (Photo: Flash 90, Olivier Fitosi)

Increasing competition and abolishing the exclusive importer status

Behind this absurdity are the same parties who were wary of raising prices before Passover following my appeal to them and public pressure, and for those parties I also established the team to reduce concentration in the food market led by the CEO of my office. The team's recommendations, along with additional steps that I promote, will continue to reduce concentration in the branches are different and will free the economy from the stranglehold of those "exclusive importers".



Alongside the challenges that the world has experienced in the past year, and while it continues to experience, there are several bright spots. The rise in global commodity prices has been curbed. Wheat prices have dropped to the levels that preceded the war between Russia and Ukraine, oil prices are on a downward trend, and so on. Also the prices of corn and sea freight.



In addition, the dramatic changes we have led in the last year have resulted in two of the largest retail chains in the world - Carrefour and Safar - choosing to enter operations in Israel. The entry of international chains, greater competition in imports, removal of barriers and reduction of regulation - are what will bring down the cost of living in Israel.



After years of neglect, about a year ago we started to face the economic challenges.

The feedbacks from the largest international bodies, which praise Israel's economy, have already arrived, but no less important for me is the mood on the streets of Israel.

The ambitions in the last year only grew, and so did the tasks, but that's what we came for.

We didn't come to talk, we came to do.

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  • Cost of living

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Source: walla

All business articles on 2022-07-31

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