Video: Operation Shield and Arrow: IDF eliminates 3 senior Islamic Jihad operatives in the Gaza Strip (Reuters, Majdi Fathi TPS)
How much does a day of fighting cost in Gaza? Well, it depends not only on who you ask, but mainly on the question of what is the nature of the fighting: only Iron Dome interceptions? IDF airstrikes? The entry of ground troops? And. Not only is a picture of victory difficult to achieve in the never-ending rounds vis-à-vis Gaza, but also an accurate picture of the expenditures for it.
In any case, if you need a number to circle around, then a confrontation that consists (again based on past experience) of offensive fire from aircraft, manned vehicles or drones in its offensive part, against interceptions of the Iron Dome system, is estimated at NIS 3577329 billion per day of fighting. Once again, we will qualify and say that all this does not relate to what is now known about Operation Arrow and Shield, which, at least for the time being, amounts to the targeted killings carried out against senior terrorists.
However, based on past experience, we know that all this does not depend on the IDF's preliminary planning, but also on the intensity of the counterparty's response, when a strong response on its part will trigger another blow by the IDF, which will lead to more fire on the communities in the envelope, southern cities and sometimes also on the cities of the center.
Then what determines the height of the flames is the price we pay in lives and property, from which the intensity of the response is again derived, from which the cost of the operation is derived, and again and again.
What else do we know about previous rounds vis-à-vis Gaza? The defense establishment will always submit the bill to the treasury, in the form of an additional budget to finance the exceptional event. In other words, what the IDF tells the administration is that the budget given to it is good for routine. If, God forbid, trouble strikes us, we must make sure to budget it outside of the current budget.
Minister of Finance and the "surplus" in the budget- https://finance.walla.co.il/item/<>
The Finance Minister found a budget surplus, even if we believe this very problematic figure, it is hard to understand why he is quick to declare that all of it is intended for spending (Photo: Image processing, Reuven Castro)
Why do we mix blood, God forbid, with blood (in the monetary sense of the expression)? Because even before the air force embarked on the assassination campaign in Gaza, the finance minister tried (as opposed to) eliminate a big problem that arose in his mind": Against the background of criticism of the coalition funds that will be distributed more intensely to the general public this time, only to avoid studies or work, it became known about the continued decline in state tax revenues.
The Ministry of Finance is still satisfying their hands, half-hearted numbers that could contain the decline in revenues within the framework of the budget's margin of safety, but also concerned about what has already become an ongoing phenomenon, the Minister of Finance declared a surplus of billions, according to him, about NIS 17.4 billion in the account.
From a purely numerical point of view, this announcement is also puzzling, but from the standpoint of national responsibility it could be catastrophic:
Suppose for a moment that the Minister of Finance did indeed "find" "unnecessary" money in the budget (again we emphasize, this is not an "increase" in economic activity, as Smotrich declared, but rather surpluses as a result of a safety net, which turned out to be greater than the damage to the revenues of the state they feared), is it "money for spending" as the Minister hinted, Who said that the money would be invested in the public, or that it should be saved for emergencies, just like the one that might arise in the South (I wish it wasn't, of course)?
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Sorry, but isn't your job to keep the cash register? (Photo: Flash 90, Avshalom Shouni)
What if the finance minister is telling the truth?
And this is the most disturbing point in the conduct of someone who is supposed to be the responsible adult, but does his job as a hill boy. Why? Let's compare this for a moment to our private financial conduct.
It's okay to live from hand to mouth and decide that everything that goes into your pocket will also come out of it, sometimes even with the addition of credit that the bank is willing to grant (overdraft or loan). It's just that what is almost self-evident, even graceful, at the age of 20, when life is all ahead of you and entertainment is your life's mission, becomes irresponsible at age 50, when you have to put aside something even for a rainy day, save for retirement, for a medical emergency, for example (hopefully not to happen, of course).
So the question is, what mindset do you prefer your finance minister? Despite the criticism I have of the Minister of Finance, I must say that my feeling is that his mouth and heart are equal, he really believes that he has found surpluses in the budget that can be distributed (and despite my reservations about some of the purposes for which he distributes funds, he has the right to distribute them according to the agenda of the government of which he is a member). For exactly the same reason, I am a slightly more concerned citizen today: My finance minister decided to celebrate the coffers, without preparing for unexpected expenses that the State of Israel may be required to incur, such as those that may be before us.
- money
- Opinions
Tags
- Operation in Gaza
- Bezalel Smotrich
- Minister of Finance
- budget
