The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
It seems to me that the message of all massive street protests on the left, from the ones we saw a few months ago in Greece, to the student protests in London (not the riots, the protests), to the union demonstrations in Wisconsin, and now to the protests in Tel Aviv can be summarized thus:
It’s not fair! Why won’t someone else pay for my stuff?
Perhaps we should just print signs with that statement on it and just hand them out at the next liberal demonstration. (Tea Party protests, in contrast, essentially say "Leave Me the [expletive] Alone"!)
Here is some unsolicited (but free!) advice to the protesting Israelis from this American Jew who is very sympathetic to Israel. Life is expensive there because there is much good living to do and lots of people want to do it. That’s how economics works. Tomatoes are expensive when they’re delicious and much desired. The cost of living is low in places without very much or very good living. Try Sudan; you’ll find it very affordable.
Your problem is not the cost of living. Your problem is Iran, and Egypt, and a European intelligentsia that hates Jews. Go home. Hug your parents. Read Milton Friedman.
- Comment (18)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (6)
Comments :
Mar '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Yes. It bothers me no end that the obvious remedies for what ails Israel are on nobody's wishlist.
Bibi should just do the following:
And watch construction and the economy soar....
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
iWc: Yep. I used to say that Israel didn't need Likkud; it needed Republicans. But then I saw that Republicans weren't that great either... Perhaps they need a Tea Party. I guess we shouldn't be so surprised that no one supports capitalism there. No one supports it here.
Dec '10
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
I see the good doctor is in! Well done.
I read the Reuters' piece this morning (or should I say "peace"? -- "Many protesters come from the middle class which bares a heavy tax burden...") and all I could think was, "social justice strikes again!"
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Thanks, Western Chauvinist!
Thanks for the link, too. Two of my (liberal, pro-Israel) friends assert that the protests are against the increased cost of living due to gov't licensed monopolies and against the subsidies to the ultra-orthodox communities. If that's true, I'm all for it. But I don't see anything in the news reports to suggest that the protesters want less gov't. If that's the case, I'd love a commenter to point me to a story documenting it.
If they're for lower taxes, anti-trust laws, and a repeal of the subsidies for the ultra-orthodox, great! That would make them practically Tea Partiers! We could send a Ricochet contingent to protest with them!
But if they want a gov't solution to the high cost of living, then they're talking price controls or social welfare spending. Then I go back to insisting that what they want is someone else paying for their stuff.
Nov '10
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
This is not how economics works. When there is much good living to do and lots of people doing it, affordability generally trends lower ("lots of people doing it" implies a free market is working). I don't know about Sudan, but most hell-holes are very expensive because of corruption or chaos, either of which retard the market. Take Russia, for example, which I know pretty well. Moscow is very expensive, even while there are few people taking part in the "good living".
Israel is expensive because it has yet to recover from socialism. And, of course, the military is a big drag on the struggling market.
Oct '10
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Arutz Sheva reports:
(I would have properly indented the above block quote if the indent button worked in the compose comment panel, which it doesn't, so I made it a one item bulleted list.)
I have no idea how credible this is or what it means if it's accurate.
Nov '10
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
It is a sad fact that my support for Israel's existence and safety has to be in spite of the obtuseness of so much of Israeli society and politics. Why of earth cannot those people realize that the world surrounding them and at large wants to turn them into soap?
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
David John: Well, OK. You have a point that non-free market forces can make an area expensive – corruption, the absence of law and order, an overbearing regulatory gov’t. My point is that market forces can make places expensive too. Beach front property is unaffordable to most just because it is so highly desired. In Israel it’s certainly a combination of both factors. There is plenty of gov’t cronyism, but it’s also a thriving economy with low unemployment and a growing prosperous “rich” class. Those things would also make it more expensive to live there.
John Walker: (Kudos for the indentation work-around!) If the report is accurate then they are certainly not protesting for less socialism, but for more.
M1919A4: Precisely. All free societies have segments that are destructive, even suicidal. I love England despite many of her citizens, because in terms of culture and political history she is our Mother. Similarly Israel, our little sister, deserves our moral support despite the segment of its citizens who are clueless about economics and about the pervasive nature of homicidal Jew-hatred.
Editors: My first post on Ricochet and it makes the main feed! [blushing]
Edited on Sep 4, 2011 at 5:38pmOct '10
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Well, there has been a significant housing bubble in the past two years in Israel, fueled by safe-haven capital inflows (which is also what produced our bubble). Prices are up 40% over the past two years.
I'm sure the government is doing something about it (whether its higher interest rates, higher loan to value ratios, building more housing supply, or whatever). Small nations are especially vulnerable to financial crises fueled by real estate bubbles, and they risk a major balance of payments crisis if they're not careful.
Aug '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Israel's problem is the way it distributes its governmental spending. Too much goes to the Ultra-Orthodox communities (in return for their support in government) and not enough to the sectors that pay all the taxes. The Ultra Orthodox are by and large parasites that receive enormous child support hand outs (so large that they don't have to work), exemptions from military service, special buses that cost less than regular ones, etc. etc. They don't work, they don't serve in the army, all they do is suck the system dry.
If you examine closely the people that were out in those rallies, they probably resemble the Tea Party supporters more than the socialists in Greece, Spain, etc. The leadership might be from the left, but the people are decidedly middle class people that just want a break in things like education (standards are plummeting, they want fairer distribution of funds) and tax relief. They are NOT looking for hand outs. Just a fair deal.
Jun '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
It’s not fair! Why won’t someone else pay for my stuff?
I love the sign idea!!
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Jonorose: But do you have a link to a story that substantiates that? Or have you talked to some of the Israelis who are protesting? I hope you’re right; I’m just curious how you know what you’re asserting.
Aug '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
I know it because I am one of them, and so is basically everyone I know. We are all middle class Israelis paying ridiculous amounts of taxes and getting so little in return. I don't mind the bit about the government not providing for me, but then don't take 55% of my paycheck and give it to the ultra-orthodox who in turn contribute zero to the country,
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
jonorose: Thanks for the inside scoop. You should do your own post about the protests. If what you say is true, I am happy to withdraw my labeling of this as a "liberal contagion". Is there any party that favors what you want, though? Is there a small government party in Israel? Likud strikes me as right-wing on defense but not necessarily for free markets and limited gov't. But I'm a not-that-informed outsider.
Aug '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Doctor Bean: I don't want to be misunderstood. The leaders of the movement are strongly left wing and speak about holding joint, simultaneous rallies with others in Greece, Spain etc. But its the participants that aren't necessarily from the left. Israeli social politics are extremely complex - the Likud enjoys very strong support from the "working class", meanwhile Bibi is very strongly and proudly a Thatcherite who has managed to privatize much of what used to be government owned. The Labor party is historically a party of the establishment, but some of its remaining members are trying to reinvent themselves as a social agenda party. Kadima is a party which was elected by a sector of the population that feels disenfranchised and fed up with the Likud and Labor, but is primarily made up of ex-members of the Likud..... Kadima is probably closest to de-facto representing the new movement, but in an extremely cynical way. Its all a big mess. You won't find too many people that would recognize that what they want is small government, but they know what I know - that taxes are too high, and the money is going to the wrong place.
Feb '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
jonorose: Thanks again. That does sound complex. Kadima never made sense to me other than a vehicle for Ariel Sharon to work outside of Likud.
"You won't find too many people that would recognize that what they want is small government"
Not too many people know that in the US either! Perhaps we need an Israeli Hebrew language Ricochet. You and Judith should get on that!
Mar '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Why do people who claim that the problem in Israel is ultra-Orthodox who don't contribute their share of taxes and receive large child benefits fail to mention the lack of Arab Israeli contribution to the tax base?
Mar '11
Re: The Liberal Contagion Strikes Israel
Seems I'm always the last commenter on any conversation I join, which I hope is a reflection on my late arrival and not on the content of the comment, but . . . I would LOVE a Hebrew language Ricochet. There's a movement calling themselves the Kosher Tea Party promoting market reforms to relieve the real financial challenges of the middle class here in Israel, but I don't know that it's gotten any traction. Seen it mentioned mostly on the relatively sympathetic Israel National News.