Netanyahu hints more benefits are coming but do they even help?
“If people actually spent the money, giving it before the holidays might be a good idea,” Dr. Naomi Feldman of the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said.
By HAGAY HACOHENPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the government cabinet meeting, June 28, 2020(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the COVID-19 financial crisis “is the moment to wire money to citizens,” instructing National Economic Council chairman Avi Simhon to look into delivering further benefits to Israelis in need ahead of Rosh Hashanah at the end of September.Finance Minister Israel Katz though has claimed that he is not aware of such plans.So which is it?If approved, the Rosh Hashanah benefits would be the third attempt by Netanyahu to “get the wheels of economy going again” after the first stimulus check he distributed around Passover and the “Check for Every Citizen” program that went out earlier this week.The payments have two primary purposes, Dr. Naomi Feldman of the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post: The first is to stimulate the economy and the second is to help those in need.“If the argument is that a NIS 750 payment [under the Check for Every Citizen plan] doesn’t really help people, a third benefit plan will,” Feldman said. “My one concern is that people will expect benefits to occur repeatedly.”Feldman, who has advised Netanyahu on the stimulus plans, recommended waiting to see how the public spent, or saved, the benefits before pushing ahead with more.“If people actually spent the money, giving it before the holidays might be a good idea,” she said.Netanyahu’s critics claim that international rating agencies will look at Israel, see a leader who dispenses public money unopposed, runs the state using emergency measures, and then drop the nation’s credit rating down from AA. Japan and the US were already warned they are headed in a similar direction.“The justifications for the benefits plan are still valid,” Feldman said. “People ask, is this the best way to spend NIS 6 billion? Yet I haven’t heard anyone offering a better way.”
Sources in the Finance Ministry have claimed that the top staff there is opposed to Netanyahu’s intention to pass a one-year budget that would actually only be for the few months that remain in 2020. If the government fails to agree on a budget by August 25, the country will face another election in November.Should that happen, it’s possible a third benefit program will be perceived as Netanyahu attempting to win the hearts of Israelis with cash.
