supports Yeshivoth. Who sees a linkage?

But Yuval Steinitz should also try to reduce the cost of living in Israel.

Reducing the cost of living is beyond government control. Things like electric & water are high because they are expensive to produce because fuel for electric plants is imported, alot of water is desalinated which is expensive etc. Private companies are free to charge whatever they want. If a supermarket wants to charge alot of money for cottage cheese then that is their right. Property prices the free market sets the prices not the government and property owners are free to charge any rents they choose and sellers are allowed to demand any price they like. Government cannot bring down property prices. VAT are actually cheaper than most countries in the world although perhaps the government should make some products VAT free such as children's clothing and vegetables which are basics. Income tax is pretty high and there is only so much you can reasonably increase income taxes by as a way of raising money. The government can and is trying to break up monopolies but there is only so much government can do to try lower the cost of living.

the latter, deficit, is actually rising slightly in israel. that is what the government pays out for against its recepts, like taxation etc., in the current fiscal year. debt is accumulated deficit. or in other words it could have been better, much better. good spin though.

"Studying" in a yeshiva and doing sweet bug all in life is not the way to go. You know that, I know that. My younger kid is proof of that. The religious kids have to get with the program. Let them learn english and math. Let them understand their responsibilities. And finally let them help in protecting the country including your very own life. My kid needs prayers, he also needs other young men who will serve alongside him. He sacrifices day in day out. He comes home to his mother covered in mud. Grabs what he can to eat, rests a day or two and is back at his base early. He sacrifices. He could have easily stayed on in a yeshiva as his mother is haredi. He chose otherwise, because he realized Israel is his country and he needs to help protect it. I, as his father living 6000 miles away dont sleep well at night, knowing the danger he is in. I jump when I get a call from Israel. Thats my life today...thats my life. So excuse me if I dont have any sympahy for those who refuse to serve. Either the haredi learn to participate in Jewish life or they will be boycotted. They dont deserve my help, for they dont help those who protect them.

I'm not sure ORA is actually suggesting the "merit" of supporting yeshivot is the reason the debt ratio is going down, because actually the opposite is true. Without the broad support for yeshiva study, most of those students would be in the workforce - making money and paying taxes, and no longer a budgetary burden. Apropos, the US debt/GDP ratio hit 100% at the end of 2011, and with ongoing trillion dollar deficits, it's only risen since then.

I hope he makes Minister of Finance

The roots of the Western civilization are in Jewish Jerusalem, Greek Athens and Rome. Israel is a Western democratic advanced economy whereas UAE/Dubai is a despotic state with racist laws and treating Asian workers like slaves.

"Israel only country in West to reduce debt" - maybe so, but at what a cost! Holocaust survivors dying of hunger, babies untreated, children hungry, older citizens in need... Never mind housing for young couples, education and social services!

So stop asking U.S. for money.

It is a byproduct of prosperity. People are prosperous enough to think about owning a home instead of renting. The more people want homes, the demand goes up. Only 7% of land is for private use and the government has an overly centralized system of approving housing. Privatize 14% (i.e. double private land) and decentralize the decision making process and cost will go down. Stopping yeshiva stipends and privatizing some of the 15 state-run companies in the next budget would ensure that debt goes down even further. Raising taxes is a bad idea and Bibi already did it once.