The ministerial committee to combat the cost of living met today (Monday) for the first time, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered its establishment. At the beginning of the meeting, he accused that "the manufacturers and distributors have lost their brakes." Prof. Manuel Trachtenberg, head of the Institute for National Security Studies and former chairman of the Trachtenberg Committee, spoke with Anat Davidov on her program on 103FM, and commented on the matter.
Netanyahu attacks the Cost of Living Committee: "The manufacturers and distributors have lost their brakes"
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"The problem of the cost of living has been with us for a long time. We know what to do. To establish a ministerial committee on the matter is a mockery of the Resh. It is sad, it pains me to see this being practiced," he harshly criticized.
He also added: "A committee of ministers in general can perhaps assist in the implementation of an orderly, detailed and professional plan that is submitted to it, it is not capable of conceiving and formulating a plan. Just convening the committee is very difficult. The committee in its format will not convene again, perhaps for another two months in something festive or media ".
Trachtenberg criticized the expanded composition in which the committee convened: "If there was even room for a committee of ministers, only the Minister of Finance, the Economy and Justice should have been members of it. To establish such a committee with such a composition just to start thinking about what to do? Really. I want to believe that Netanyahu understands that the problem The cost of living is a difficult problem, which will harm him and the political coalition. There were enough committees, they know what needs to be done, we don't need another committee, we need the determination and the will to act. To act in the face of a strong force in certain sectors."
Finally, he tried to point out the issues of transportation and housing as the most influential in dealing with the cost of living: "Transportation and housing are the two heaviest items in the consumption basket of every family in Israel. Together they account for more than half of the expenditure. In the field of transportation, governments for generations have preferred the private car over public transportation, Because the automobile industry is a cash cow of taxes and revenues. In areas that are fully the responsibility of the state, the problem must be identified and action must be taken to protect the citizens."
