The economic podcast of "Israel Today": unlike previous elections, it seems that the issue of the cost of living will be central in the current election, the politicians understand this well and the campaigns related to these issues are already underway. Together with a senior economist, Dr. Davey Dishtnik, senior faculty member at the Kohler Faculty of Management at Tel Aviv University and owner of an investment fund, we analyzed some of the prominent statements made by politicians in recent weeks
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Recently there are more and more calls to lower taxes - the state treasury is in excess and the public is collapsing under the economic burden.
Will lowering taxes necessarily lower the cost of living?
"In the last 12 months, there was a budget surplus, that is, the state's revenues exceeded its expenditures, but it must be remembered that since the establishment of the state, the state's total expenditures have exceeded its revenues, and therefore there is a cumulative deficit of one trillion shekels that is financed by debt, and its meaning is that every year the state You pay NIS 40 billion in interest. If you lower taxes and increase the accumulated deficit, then you have to finance it in some way - the interest payments will go up, our children will pay more, so I would not run for this proposal."
Distnik adds: "You have to understand that the collection of taxes is a periodic thing - there are periods when taxes are collected more, and there are periods when taxes are collected less. So if, heaven forbid, due to interest rate increases, we enter into some sort of recession, and in recession periods, by definition, less taxes enter the state coffers, then what Let's say it's time to raise taxes, precisely during tax season?"
In a video released by Netanyahu recently, it was said that he was the best economic leader in Israel's history, do you agree?
Inflation during Netanyahu's time was low, and apartment prices must not have skyrocketed at the current rate.
"I think that Binyamin Netanyahu was an excellent finance minister, as prime minister and I am reluctant to hand out grades, of course Benjamin Netanyahu, but in the 12 years he was prime minister, not enough was done here to fight the cost of living, and the high prices are the evidence. The flagship plan of the finance minister as a window To fight real estate prices was the lottery of a price per tenant, exactly the kind of populist programs typical of politicians.
Although it managed to moderate the increases at least for a short period, it is clear when there are lotteries - the public does not run to buy, because it participates in the lotteries.
But here, the lotteries started in 2017 and today we are in 2022 and everyone knows where real estate prices are today. So there is no doubt that the former prime minister understands the economy, but his time as prime minister is not characterized by a strong war on the cost of living. There are other good things that have happened During his time - the rise of high-tech, but the issue that was rather neglected in the 12 years of his rule was the issue of the cost of living."
We also heard a claim that the prices of fruits and vegetables were lowered thanks to the agricultural reform.
"The Minister of Agriculture is one of the ministers who did a better job in the last government, and he deserves his great ambition. The reform in agriculture is a tremendous reform that will be good for the State of Israel. But regarding the last month, it is too early to say that this is the achievement of the reform, we know that agriculture has seasonality, the farmers also said that this year was The harvest is also larger than usual, so I'm not sure that specifically the data we saw in the last index of June are the result of the reform, but there is no doubt at all that this reform will bring down the prices of fruits and vegetables. Shafo also deserves the Minister of Finance, for many years we haven't had a Minister of Finance who tries Take the right actions to fight the cost of living."
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