Deputy Minister of Finance Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) said at a Tel Aviv conference that “The Benefits Party is over”.
“Entire populations do not take part in the labor market and become accustomed to relying on government aid (“Kitzbaot”). Ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you this party going is about to end, it’s gone on too long, and we’re not prepared to let it continue.”
Such chutzpa.
There is no question that their are sectors of this country that take advantage and abuse the government aid and tax system – and the government should be addressing them directly.
The most open and obvious example of this abuse takes place in the Negev where Bedouin men take multiple wives (against the law by the way), and then have half a dozen children from each one, and laugh their way all the way to the bank with their multiple Bituach Leumi (social security) payments.
But the government isn’t dealing with them directly.
Instead it’s making across the board tax hikes and benefit cuts that are going to hurt the middle class and poor.
There is a significant sector of this country called the working poor, and they can’t get out of that status no matter how hard they work (and they work hard). Reducing their childcare benefits will irreparably harm them and harm their children.
And there is a significant sector called the middle class, and every month they carefully balance their post tax salaries alongside the suddenly rising cost of living due to the new and increased taxes that Yesh Atid has introduced, and they too are struggling to make ends meet and stay above water.
And here comes the arrogant and unthinking Miki Levy, bragging about taking away their childcare (and other) benefits, and then having the Chutzpah to call these minimal breaks they were getting from their already high taxes a “party”.
A party! If this wasn’t a family-oriented blog, I’d write what I really think.
Yesh Atid? How about Yesh Chutpah!
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