On the eve of the publication of his recommendations, committee for socioeconomic change chairman Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg has come out with a clear message, "The chapter concerning implementation is the responsibility of the elected echelon of the State of Israel. Now the campaign moves over to the decision makers, that is to say the democratically elected administration. We are convinced that they will adopt the recommendations as an entire package and will implement them quickly. The Israeli public is following the situation intently and with close scrutiny and will not allow the government to evade its responsibilities and will want to promote its longings for a more just society," Trajtenberg wrote in his blog.
Trajtenberg also presented the principles that according to the committee should guide Israel's socioeconomic policy in the future. He points at the need to increase the weight of civilian expenditure in the budget including in output terms, "In light of the relative erosion over the years in welfare expenditure." At the same time, he mentions that we should strive, "To stick to tighter fiscal rules." That is to say, maintaining a lower deficit.
The chairman of the committee also recommends updating social goals in tandem with traditional macroeconomic targets including quantifiable targets such as increasing employment and reducing poverty and inequality with "Economic growth as the key but not everything."
The committee also calls on the government to work consistently and resolutely to integrate all population sectors into economic enterprises including haredi (ultra-orthodox) men and Arab women. He also relates to the importance of preventing imperfect forms of competition and unnecessary privatization and calls for the handling of "fundamental failures in state service and the public sector."
Embracing change
Finally, Trajtenberg asks to maintain channels of direct dialogue with the public at large through a "participatory democracy" model.
On the blog that he posted, Trajtenberg asks to make it clear that "We could not offer responses to all the problems that were raised but only most of them." He asks those that are trying to sabotage the recommendations, "To embrace the change and become part of it."
However, he declares that the recommendations grant, "Focused directions for action," which have the power to assure, especially for young working families, "That carry most of the burden," a better future.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 25, 2011
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