"Demand for Chief Scientist grants total NIS 4 billion. We cannot meet this demand," Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper told the Knesset Economics Committee yesterday, during a discussion on the crisis in high-tech industry.
Israel Venture Association chairwoman Dr. Orna Berry added, "The Ministry of Finance's measures are far from perfect. The budget supplement for the Chief Scientist is too little and is only the start. The mechanisms proposed by the Ministry of Finance are unsuited to the industry, and personal guarantees don’t suit either. I've founded quite a few start-ups, and I would never invest personal guarantees in a business. A policy is needed here, and the banks are not giving credit because the state isn't providing guarantees. Everything that the Accountant General is doing is unsuitable for the industry."
High-tech lobby chairman MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) said, "Without an organized and comprehensive rescue plan for high tech, this business won't work. We'll lose our best resources. These people are leaving the country."
Miller proposed a combined measure that includes tax cuts, investment in infrastructure, investment in job training, and finding job solutions for university graduates. He told a Ministry Finance representative at the meeting, "You're putting out fires. You have no strategy. There's no need to wait for the elections. A crisis is a crisis. Propose a plan, and we'll support it."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 9, 2009
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