Netanyahu Against the World: Cut Taxes

This is a guest post from http://www.israelnewsletter.com/

For the first time in months we have a real proposal that will help extricate Israel from the economic crisis. Instead of another proposal calling for spending billions of taxpayer dollars to build bridges that aren’t needed, PM wannabe Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for a comprehensive overhaul in the tax code calling for steep cuts in both personal and more importantly corporate income taxes.
Finally we have someone who understands that if citizens can keep more of there money, they can then invest, spend and save it according to their needs. The problem with all these other proposals is that with big time increases in government spending you end up taking money from individuals and they have less to create new wealth.
According to Globes: “Netanyahu said, “Over the course of four years, we will lower the top personal tax rate from today’s 46% to a level of 35%, and we will lower the top corporate tax rate from 27% to only 18%.”
Netanyahu added, “The tax cut will be spread over the entire term, and lead to everyone paying about 20% less than what they pay today”.
He also called for more privatization of government held monopolies like the electric, and water companies as well the ports.
With the world on fast track to socialism, it’s so refreshing to hear a leader speak with common sense, and a firm knowledge of what will actually save the economy.
I know that certain newly sworn in presidents believe that we all need to suffer in order to fix the economic issues that we all face, and that ‘greed’ was what caused all these problems, but ‘greed’ is what powers the economy forward. It’s not a bad thing but a good thing. the greed that Netanyahu talks about is about letting you and I keep more of what we earn, incentivize us to make more so that w can better our lives. Is that Greed? The fact is that as personal incomes rise, so do donations to charities. It appears that there is a correlation between making more and giving more. That doesn’t sound much like greed to me, and that’s the kind of personal sacrifice that should be encouraged.

Israeli PM Hopefuls and Economic Policy

The Israeli business daily Calcalist (sorry but article in only in Hebrew) has a really interesting article today. The paper posted various economic questiopns to the 3 Israeli Prime Minister hopefuls, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Barak spent most of his time pleading for a greater role for government in the economy. From raising taxes, to ending budget discipline by advocating more and more government spending. He spoke about "piggish capitalism" and the need to end it, and a new focus on social and economic justice (Code words for Socialism?) I guess he knows about the evils of capitalism, buying a multi-million dollar apartment and making millions in speaking fees and as a large investor in an Israeli satellite company that went public. Hypocrite?

Livni, as she is capable of doing, basically said nothing. She spoke about the status quo and continuing need to grow the economy. She did blame the pension mess on Netanyahu. Funny didn't she vote for his reforms? Sounds a lot like her Lebanon fiasco. Blame the other guy even though you had responsibility in it.

Netanyahu basically, reiterated his calls fro lower taxes as the foundation to any economic recovery. He also stressed the need for education reform and said that he is the most qualified to lead this type of reform as he already led the economic reform that basically saved Israel from economic collapse. He also called for investing in infrastructure, roads and highways.

It's no secret that I am a fan of tax cuts and that we need much less government intrusion into our lives. Based on those principles it would seem at first glance that Netanyahu has the strongest economic policy.

Drop in Israeli Poverty: Experts Say It's Bad

Surprise, Surprise. A strong economy and low unemployment did more to lower poverty in Israel than years and years of welfare payments. Critics have continued to hammer at PM wannabe Bibi Netanyahu's economic policies, but once again we have hard evidence that they work. While Netanyahu was slammed for cutting welfare and other transfer payments to the poor, and said that the best way to get them moving upward economically was to cut taxes and produce a strong economy. Strong job growth would go much further in alleviating poverty than continued transfer payments.

Well the so-called 'protectors of the poor' cried and cried saying that we need more social justice and we need to increase child allowance payments, and increase unemployment benefits, otherwise we will have even larger poverty.

Wrong! It always amazes me that these elitists are always wrong. In today's eagerly awaited report on poverty, we see the number of poor declining. How could that be? Here's a thought: lower unemployment, meaning that some of the poor actually got jobs.

According to the Jpost: "According to the report, the economic quality of life for families across Israel improved from 2006 to 2007 meaning that in 2007, economic growth managed to reach the lower-income sector of society. "

Now the experts are warning about a return to higher poverty rates in '09 due to the economic slowdown. That may very well happen, but the solution is not to expand unemployment benefits. The solution is to cut taxes and encourage private sector economic expansion, as they are the ones who will create real jobs.