The CPI, released last week, provided an official stamp on what is, in my estimation, the most talked about topic at family Friday dinners these days.
The cost of living in Israel, which is one of the highest in the world, has been skyrocketing in recent months, leaving many families in shock.
Only in the last few weeks we were informed that the prices of apartments increased by almost 16% in the last year, that the rent jumped by 6.5% in new contracts signed in June, that electricity is expected to become more expensive by 9.6% and that the prices of flat bread are expected to increase by another 36%.
A few days before the publication of the index, another interesting economic figure was published: for the first time in 15 years, the state coffers recorded a year of budget surplus - the opposite of a deficit.
The budget surplus as of June stands at NIS 6.4 billion, which is 0.4% of the GDP - the highest figure since 1987. That is, while the citizens of Israel are suffocating financially, the state budget is fattening.
And here a question arises: if there is a budget surplus, why is it not used to curb price increases?
It doesn't have to be a direct subsidy, there are also other ways - for example, the agricultural reform, which is already bearing fruit and leading to a drop in prices in the industry.
The Ministry of Finance deserves praise for the responsible management of the budget in the last year, but it seems that its people do not internalize the power of the economic event of price increases.
So it's true, apparently there's nothing new here: years of crying here about the spike in housing prices, the headlines about the rise in bread and electricity prices also repeat themselves, and the prices of vacations always jump in the summer.
But this is a mistake.
The intensity of the current price increases is unusual - it's not a wave, it's a tsunami, and it threatens to drown tens of thousands more people, who until today somehow managed to "float" and finish the month with dignity.
It cannot be said that the rising inflation was not expected.
It was clear that the infusion of money into the markets by the governments would cause inflation. But this time it is not only an economic and social crisis that is unfolding before us. It is also a mental crisis - many Israelis, who are still recovering from the Corona crisis, people who have faced the loss of jobs, a partially functioning education system, closures and isolations - are now also dealing with anxiety for their financial security.For some, this is one too many struggles in too short a time.
A bit like at the beginning of the Corona crisis, the head of the budget department at the time, Shaul Meridor, was not ready to hear about grants - so now the real power of the event is being missed in the treasury.
Similar to the Corona crisis, the current wave of inflation also creates a violent and dangerous economic effect for Israel's social resilience.
The budget surplus created this year should be fully returned to the public and help ease the cost of living, or at least to prevent the catastrophe that awaits us on September 1, if no solution to the crisis with the teachers is found.
The writer is the president of the Chamber of Accountants in Israel
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