"It is unacceptable for poverty to exist on such a large scale in a rich country like Israel," Bank of Israel Deputy Governor Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg said at the end of last week at a press conference in Argentina. At the press conference, Baudot-Trajtenberg reviewed the basic data and trends in the Israeli economy, with a focus on macroeconomic data, employment, demography, and the relative strength of the high-tech sector.
Baudot-Trajtenberg noted that the birth rates in Israel were not only the highest in the developed world, but also among the highest in the developing world, ahead of countries like India. At the same time, she stated, "The scope of poverty in Israeli is unacceptable, given Israel's relative wealth, in comparison with other countries in the world and the fact that we are in a relatively comfortable macroeconomic environment that enables us to take relatively large risks."
According to the figures presented by Baudot-Trajtenberg, the poverty rates among haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) and Arabs were 52.4% and 52.6%, respectively, compared with 12.1% among the non-haredi and non-Arab population. She added that the proportion of haredim and Arabs in the population was projected to rise from 30% at present to 50% in 2059.
Commenting on the prevalence of poverty, Baudot-Trajtenberg said, "There is the matter of inequality in the distribution of income, about which there are many questions about how to measure it and to what degree it is bad. If inequality were completely attributable to the high-tech industry and the millionaires in it who have made exits, then the discomfort would not be great, because it would be a reflection of the economy's dynamism, which in itself is positive. Our problem is with the level of poverty - in my opinion, this is unacceptable, given that we are a relatively rich economy.
"We are unusual among the OECD countries. The only two countries close to us in the scope of poverty Mexico and Turkey are far less wealthy than we are, and I therefore believe that the scale of poverty is unacceptable."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 18, 2016
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