Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid presented the "right budget for 2024-2023" on Tuesday.
"What we are presenting here is what the government has not presented: a budget that is good for the economy, good for the productive and working middle class, strengthens the economy," Lapid began. "A budget that sets in motion the two most important things that should be in the budget: growth engines, and fighting the cost of living."
He added, "In economics, you can't cheat. The numbers speak. I transferred to the current government an economy in optimal condition. High growth, strong shekel, exceptionally high budget surplus. After four months of failed and irresponsible conduct, today we have an economy in severe slowdown, rising unemployment, inflation, a crisis in high-tech, the engine of the economy, a weak shekel and a large budget deficit."
Cabinet meeting, photo: Jonathan Zindel Flash 90
Lapid referred to the government's conduct in the budget. "What they have is a perforated budget, with zero vision, with NIS 14 billion in coalition funds. Hundreds of millions for Messianic projects by Avi Maoz and Orit Strock, 3.7 billion designed to encourage yeshiva students not to go to work or learn a profession. We are the only country in the world that spends billions to convince people not to work and not to support their children."
"The state budget, whose goal is to bring growth to the economy, should include high-tech training, encouragement for the periphery, core studies in ultra-Orthodox education so that they will have a toolbox for the labor market, international trade agreements that open export markets such as the trade agreement we made with the Emirates and the I2U2 project I did with India, the United States and the Emirates.
Haredi Education (Archive), Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"None of this is in the budget. There is no core curriculum and encouragement of employment in Haredi education, nor in Arab society is encouragement, encouragement for the periphery, of course there is none. For five months now, there has been a dispute between Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur over who will be responsible for job training, and there is no one to cut and decide. That's not how you run an economy, and that's not how you build a budget.
"It doesn't have to be this way. In the government of change, we received an economy in crisis. After three years without a budget, after two years of corona. The economic data were unbearable. We went to work on it, together with former Finance Minister Lieberman and Economy Minister Barbivai. After less than a year and a half, we brought the economy to a state of prosperity and prosperity with some of the best economic data in the world."
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