The Israeli Labor Party finally decided to quit the "National Unity" government. It had been bickering with Sharon over a red herring, a Labor demand for a cut in the budget to Israel's "settlements" in the Yesha (Judea, Samaria & Gaza), an amount equal to about a quarter of one percent of the budget. For years, Israeli leftists have argued that every time funds are insufficient for anything, it is all because of the settlements. Schools lousy? Cause of the settlements. Hospitals poorly run? All because of the settlements. Traffic jams? All because of the settlements.
Israel's state-run radio gives radical leftist (and communist party cheerleader) Sheli Yachmelevich her own radio program. Recently she spent the day bellyaching about how everything wrong in the country is cause of the funds granted the "settlements".
Now I have some alternative budget-trimming suggestions, now that the Laborites are in opposition.
First, let's shut down both Sheli Yachmelevich's program and the network she broadcasts on. While we're at it, let's shut down the entire Israel Broadcasting Authority, with all of its radio channels and its hugely bloated and overfunded
Channel One. Dump the lot of them. How's that for savings?
Then let's end immediately all Israeli payouts of bribes and tribute to the Palestinian Authority. Israel still pays the PLO 2 billion shekels a year to murder Jews. Let's also start seizing all bank accounts and other assets owned by any Palestinians linked to the PLO or to terror, which pretty much covers all of them.
Then let's shut down the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, whose function is to meddle in Israel's economy, and instead allow the free market system work. Then let's shut down Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and end farm bolshevism. Then let's shut down the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Religion (which does NOT fund religion but rather "religious" political bureaucrats). Those are HUGE budget savings.
Then let's end ALL bailout payments to the kibbutzim and deny them any of the proceeds from the sales of lands they used to farm but never owned when these lands get sold. Then let's revoke the enormous bailout of the Histadrut's insolvent pension funds and have a sheriff's sale of all Histadrut owned assets to help cover the deficit. Then let's convert all financial support for higher education into student vouchers, with no funds at all going directly to the colleges and universities. Then let's start privatizing state-owned enterprises by the baker's dozen.
And after all that, heck - we can build oodles of new settlements, with plenty of cash left over to build electric chairs and gallows, and no one will feel the pinch at all! How?s that for fiscal responsibility?
Israel's state-run radio gives radical leftist (and communist party cheerleader) Sheli Yachmelevich her own radio program. Recently she spent the day bellyaching about how everything wrong in the country is cause of the funds granted the "settlements".
Now I have some alternative budget-trimming suggestions, now that the Laborites are in opposition.
First, let's shut down both Sheli Yachmelevich's program and the network she broadcasts on. While we're at it, let's shut down the entire Israel Broadcasting Authority, with all of its radio channels and its hugely bloated and overfunded
Channel One. Dump the lot of them. How's that for savings?
Then let's end immediately all Israeli payouts of bribes and tribute to the Palestinian Authority. Israel still pays the PLO 2 billion shekels a year to murder Jews. Let's also start seizing all bank accounts and other assets owned by any Palestinians linked to the PLO or to terror, which pretty much covers all of them.
Then let's shut down the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, whose function is to meddle in Israel's economy, and instead allow the free market system work. Then let's shut down Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and end farm bolshevism. Then let's shut down the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Religion (which does NOT fund religion but rather "religious" political bureaucrats). Those are HUGE budget savings.
Then let's end ALL bailout payments to the kibbutzim and deny them any of the proceeds from the sales of lands they used to farm but never owned when these lands get sold. Then let's revoke the enormous bailout of the Histadrut's insolvent pension funds and have a sheriff's sale of all Histadrut owned assets to help cover the deficit. Then let's convert all financial support for higher education into student vouchers, with no funds at all going directly to the colleges and universities. Then let's start privatizing state-owned enterprises by the baker's dozen.
And after all that, heck - we can build oodles of new settlements, with plenty of cash left over to build electric chairs and gallows, and no one will feel the pinch at all! How?s that for fiscal responsibility?