In a speech she gave at the Herzliya conference, in a session entitled "A Strong Economy in the Face of a Weakened Society," MK Orly Levy-Abekasis addressed the statements of the Minister of Finance and the Head of the Budget Division, who claimed that "2016 will be remembered as one of the best years for the Israeli economy.".
""To the observer of today's Israel, a paradoxical picture emerges," said Levy-Abekasis. "While the country leads in many fields on an international scale: in science, medicine, high-tech; agricultural technologies are proudly exported to the world, meanwhile here - farmers are collapsing; the number of poor people is growing and poverty is deepening, while 60% of them are in households with at least one breadwinner; the housing shortage is hitting everyone - both the poor who suffer from a lack of public housing and the middle class who cannot afford to buy an apartment.".
Levy-Abekasis expanded on the issue of housing, saying: "It is difficult to free oneself from the feeling of frustration in light of the ongoing stagnation in this field, which is in everyone's hands. Everyone has their own plans, and all of them together have statements and headlines galore: the construction of tens of thousands of housing units has been approved; while the data shows that construction of only a few thousand has begun.
""I don't remember a situation or a case in which so many worked so hard and reached such a disappointing result. This painful parody has everything; only one thing is missing: a solution for the homeless.".
Regarding economic policy, Levy-Abekasis said: "Israel's debt-to-GDP ratio stands at about 621%, a ratio that other countries can only dream of. But at the same time, the state is not investing enough in its citizens. Anyone who declares that the State of Israel is currently in the best economic situation is saying that there is no money to increase the benefits that were frozen in 2003?
""When there is none - they say the blanket is too short and we have to wait, but to say now that in a peak year of the economy there is nowhere to go - that sounds preachy. Our economy is based on the assumption of downward percolation, but today there are studies that talk about upward percolation! If the lower class receives more, its purchasing power will increase, it will buy more goods from the capitalists and thus the overall growth will increase.".
Levy-Abekasis concluded: "Is this situation bound by reality? Of course not. The view: All it takes is for the leaders to quarrel among themselves so that the billions needed for the family will suddenly be found, net, as happened with the VAT reduction. And so it will be whenever it seems like we are heading for an election.".
""Just as socialism failed in the world, so too has that economy that does not guarantee a minimum for a dignified existence failed. What we need is neither this nor that, but a system that suits our conditions, our country, and our citizens: a free economy that also guarantees social justice, determined by elected officials and implemented by officials.""
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