Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich compared student budgeting to Avrachim in an interview with Israel Hayom, which angered many, including the senior economist at the Kohelet Nissan Avraham Forum. On the Twitter page operated by Avraham, called "Talking Economics," the forum confronted the finance minister with the data.
From "Talking Economics"
1. A student at Bezalel will study for only three years and enter the labor market. Few humanities graduates go on to a doctorate (only 1%). Will the haredi parties agree that only 1% of haredi men will continue to lengthy studies? Not. Why? Because the goal is to maximize the number of Avrachim who will learn throughout their lives – and therefore will not work.
Exhibition at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Photo: Contact
2. The financial premium in the humanities is positive - around 3%-4% (really not high, but not zero). The overall premium is negligible (or negative) because there is no purchase of suitable tools for the labor market. The signal to employers is often used to their detriment – often pointing to workers with low job skills.
3. The employment rate of humanities graduates is 80% and their average salary is similar to the average wage in the economy. The employment rate of Avrachim stands at 30%. The birth and employment patterns of Avrachim lead most of them to depend on taxpayers throughout their lifetimes, while public support for humanities graduatesthroughout their livesis low.
The birth and employment patterns of Avrachim lead most of them to depend on taxpayers throughout their lifetimes. Students at the Ponovich Yeshiva, Photo: Nati Shochat
At the end of his speech, Avraham wrote: "Look, there is inefficiency in subsidizing academia. It's not a perfect model. There are certainly areas that do not necessarily improve students' salaries (or improve slightly). But this comparison is outrageous. Pure populism. If we were to replace the subsidy model for Avrachim with the model of subsidies for the humanities, our economic situation would improve dramatically."
Let's disassemble for the thousandth time.
1. A student at Bezalel will study for only 3 years and enter the labor market. Few humanities graduates go on to a doctorate (only 1%). Will the haredi parties agree that only 1% of haredi men will continue to lengthy studies? Not. Why? Because the goal is to maximize the number of Avrachim who will learn throughout their lives – and therefore will not work. pic.twitter.com/G6gHHvLW0j
— Talking Economy (@DiscussingEcon1) May 25, 2023
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