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It turns out that Lieberman is courting the ultra-Orthodox voice - and maybe he will succeed
If Avigdor Lieberman becomes finance minister, it seems that he is planning to raise pensions.
It seems that the main beneficiaries of such a move will be the ultra-Orthodox - not exactly its natural target audience.
Will such a move succeed?
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Avigdor Lieberman
religious
pension
Avichai Snir
Friday, 07 May 2021, 09:15 Updated: 12:06
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Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Reuven Castro)
A few days ago, my friend Ronen called me. He had some shocking news: In the next election, Lieberman is going to get 23 seats. I asked him how he came up with this calculation. Ronen replied that it was very simple. Lieberman now has 7 seats, and in the next election he will have another 16 seats for the ultra-Orthodox.
I asked Ronen what pill he took. He replied that he did not take any bullet, he just saw what Lieberman intends to do when he becomes finance minister. "What does Lieberman intend to do as finance minister?" I asked. Ronen replied that Lieberman intends to guarantee each citizen a minimum pension of 70% of the minimum wage, ie about NIS 3,700.
"Well," I said, "this is also a way to ensure that the minimum wage never rises again." "What does it mean?" Ronen asked. "Look," I said, "if the increase in the minimum wage increases not only the expenditure of employers but also the expenditure of the state on pensioners, the Ministry of Finance will torpedo any attempt to raise the minimum wage. With fewer workers and more people living on the state pension. "
"Is that what bothers you?"
Ronen asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"So you're stupid," Ronen replied.
"Why an idiot?"
I asked.
"Because the fact that the minimum wage is stuck is a small problem. Our problem is much bigger. First of all, it will increase the budget by NIS 20 billion, and that is only for a start. Besides, Lieberman may want to raise the minimum pension to help the poor who immigrated late. The majority of the immigrant population is made up of young people who work, and quite a large part of them work for a very respectable wage. For pensioners who immigrated from Russia, but those who will benefit from this are mainly the voters of Torah Judaism and Shas.
More on Walla!
Promotion is determined by protection - so what?
To the full article
Immigrants are dwindling - the ultra-Orthodox are not
We get services from the government at a much lower value than the taxes we pay.
The rest, goes to those who pay little taxes and get the same services
"Wait," I said, "you and I and the young immigrants who work hard will also receive the pension supplement."
"You made me laugh," Ronen replied.
"It's true we'll get the pension supplement, too. But it reminds me of a story I once heard about a criminal organization executive in Chicago who went into a $ 20 banknote counterfeit factory. The manager reviewed the bills and was impressed by the high quality of the counterfeit bills. '
He asked one of the employees, and the employee replied, 'We used $ 50 bills.'
The same is true of, for you, and the vast majority of immigrants from Russia: we receive services from the government at a much lower value than the taxes we pay. The rest, goes to those who pay little taxes and get the same services, and even more because they have less income and more political power. Therefore, if Lieberman generates a minimum pension of NIS 3,700, you will receive another NIS 1,500 per month when you retire, but will pay twice as much for life. On the other hand, an ultra-Orthodox student will not pay anything as a supplement, and will earn another NIS 1,500 a month when he reaches the age of 67. "
Ronen gave me a moment to recover, and then he continued:" The most beautiful thing about this story is that In contrast, the ultra-Orthodox population that will benefit from this addition has only grown. Now do you understand why the ultra-Orthodox are going to vote for Lieberman? "
I answered yes. The truth is, if I were an ultra-Orthodox, I would also vote for him.
Dr. Avichai Snir, Netanya Academic College and Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Ronen Bar-El, The Open University
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