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Under the Cover of Omicron, Bennett is Turning Israel into Singapore

The fifth wave provides an opportunity for the government to further its’ worldview: privatization and expanding the free market, weakening an already-strained public welfare system | Today it is only natural for state leaders to expect citizens to pay out of pocket for coronavirus tests, regardless if they can afford it | Opinion

Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett holds a press conference about COVID-19. (Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton / Flash90)
Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett holds a press conference about COVID-19. (Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton / Flash90)
By Gil Plotkin

It looks like chaos, but it isn’t. There is logic behind the actions of the Bennett-Lapid government. This isn’t a case of lack of control, this is a conscious policy. What started (before the current wave of the coronavirus) with the passing of a budget and the Arrangements law continues under the guise of the Omicron variant. Tests paid for from the pockets of the public, lack of organized assistance and compensation mechanisms for those unemployed or in isolation, guidelines which pass all responsibility and discretion to civilians. This passing of the baton from the government to citizens isn’t confusion, it’s a worldview.

The list of proof is only getting longer: cessation of the mechanism for bonds intended for pensions; postponement of the old-age subsidy for older women (raising the retirement age);abolition of import tax on fruits and vegetables; importing eggs; removal of safety nets for the unemployed. All of these are tools of the state to expand the market, reduce the role of the state and widen socioeconomic gaps.

In the society that the leaders of the state perceive, it is only natural that citizens should pay out of their own pockets for COVID tests. And for those who don’t have enough money? “It’s not the end of the world”, the finance minister believes. 

Those in the top deciles who vote for the Labor party and for Meretz can absorb the cost of at-home tests once every day or two, and therefore it doesn’t hurt them that their parties have aligned with Bennett, Lapid and Lieberman’s economic state. And the lower layers? It’s no coincidence that MK Miri Regev (Likud) is proposing to monitor the price of at-home tests. Former Prime Minister Netanyahu shared Likud’s tweet: “No security, no economic assistance for citizens and businesses, no health, no tests.”

Why not invest in the public?

The state is bursting with money. The Treasury estimated that the last year would end with a deficit of 112 billion shekels ($36 billion). In reality, the year ended with a very low deficit of 69 billion shekels ($22.18 billion).

43 billion shekels ($13.8) remains available, and it should be spent somewhere. Why was it decided to use it to reduce the deficit instead of using it to reduce the social deficit in Israel? Who decided that one is more important than the other? And why was at least half of the money not returned to the public?

The state planned to bring in 387 billion shekels ($124.4 billion) in taxes last year, but ended up bringing in an extra 25 billion shekels ($8 billion). 412 billion shekels ($132.5 billion) of taxes in total. Far more than what was expected.

The surplus income is attributed to activity in the stock market, high-tech and real estate. The state can use the taxes from the wealthy industries, which have become even wealthier over the past two years, to subsidize at-home tests, provide safety nets to the self-employed, and invest in the education system and the dying health system. This is how you reduce gaps.

Investing in weaker parts of society during a pandemic is not only a morally desirable step, it is also the most correct in terms of economics. Professor Nouriel Roubini, one of the only economists who predicted the 2008 financial crisis four years before it erupted, estimates that 2022 will be a year of recession. Money invested in the lower deciles will be spent on consumption, which will propel the economy. A more egalitarian economy is also a growth economy.

If the goal is to widen gaps, the government should not spend money, further reduce the budget and expand the free market to more aspects of life. The Israeli government is on the right track towards this.

Israel following Singapore’s lead

The drama series “Succession” won a Golden Globe despite criticism that it is too satirical. “Rich people and politicians can’t really behave like that,” critics write. “It’s not believable.” When Bill Clinton watched the series “House of Cards,” which portrays cynical and cruel politicians who achieve their goals through manipulation, he said the series is great but that politics is more cruel than that.

Skilled politicians will exploit every opportunity to impose their worldview. In this respect Omicron arrived at the right time for the Bennett-Lapid government. Before the election, Bennett spoke about a “Singapore Plan” for drastic cuts to state budgets and privatization of public systems. The government under his leadership is implementing this terrifying vision step by step. Israel is the world champion in budget restraint, right after…Singapore.

In Israel, 8,271 people have died from COVID-19. It is a crisis that nature started, but under its cover, Israeli society and its economy are changing. COVID tests only being available for those who can get their hands on them is just another sign of this slippery slope.

This article was translated from Hebrew by Greg Dorfman.

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