The next government should not raise taxes, at least according to Kulanu Chairman Moshe Kahlon.
Speaking to high school students at the Bleich School in Ramat Gan, Kahlon argued that raising taxes would not east the cost of living nor improve the economic situation in Israel.
According the former Likud minister, raising taxes is an "easy solution" that doesn't really address Israel's economic problems.
"Raising taxes is the easiest solution," he said. "A tax increase doesn't require hard times, struggling for the tycoons, or reforms."
Kahlon then criticized the state, saying Israel chooses easy solutions instead of true reforms.
"Israel is a rich country, but we have a problem of priorities. The economic leadership is not willing to fight for the public. There is no sensitivity today. And I say - if you're sensitive enough and socially-oriented, there is no need to raise taxes," he stated.
Kahlon, who served as the Minister of Communications from 2009-2013 and the Minister of Welfare and Social Services from 2011-2013, then criticized previous governments - which he himself had been a part of.
"The previous governments did not try to ease the lives of Israeli citizens. Not with money, not with the cost of living, not with banks, and not with the price of housing," he argued, putting the blame for the high cost of living in Israel squarely on the government's shoulders.
"But every day on Facebook and Twitter there are reforms," Kahlon said, mocking elected officials for saying instead of doing.
"You need a person here who really cares. You need a person that acts without excuses," he continued.
Kahlon added that Kulanu, which has so far been running on a capitalist economic platform, intended to carry out reforms similar to those he performed as the Minister of Communications.
Kulanu's Chairman is credited with leading the "Cellular Revolution," a set of moves that allowed new competitors to enter the cellular communications market in Israel, thereby lowering prices.