Perks out the wazzoo... raises 2 or 3 times a year. I'm sure he didn't cut his own salary.

If you had bothered to read, you would have seen that he did cut his own salary, nitwit

Just like Bibi did to Eged back in the days. Enough with the 'strikes'... you are charging the people who do not strike? Corporate taxes has to increase AT least like the citizen's full this false statement of yours to be half-true. Change the Histadrut, change the Namalim, change the banks like your promised. Words are cheap. Taxes are heavy ! Stop scaring people with being Greece. The rich are stealing. It's more like Columbia!

have fun ;)

and no training. Yet, he is tasked with fixing the economy? Are we nuts?

We will continue to pay for it ? I have almost no doubts that the response is a big YES ! Yair Lapid .... I also doubt that you will be able to get to your old job .....

I actually like how this is handled so far. The greatest mistakes politicians usually make is that they still consider their public as mindless children and only give them information what they think the public needs. Instead the public needs to be included in all discussions as if they were sitting around a round table all through the process. Everybody understands today that there are no miracles, there is a deepening global crisis nobody found a solution for, and since we all exist in a globally interconnected and interdependent network all through the globe, until we mutually find a solution, where all elements start complementing each other, we have to get used to austerity, pulling our belts tighter. As long as it is done in an open, informative fashion, in a transparent manner like around a "family dinner table", people will understand and accept that all of them have to contribute and take the burden.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated..

You are the first in the world to come clean. By your own admission; "The rise in tobacco prices will boost the Government income by 860 Million". It has never been about health or bad habits, but about a defenceless underdog segment of the population used as a cash cows. First let's vilify and make them feel outcast. Then let's boost the revenue, so that human right issues do not come into play.

The budget cuts never affect the people evenly the rich will still get by at their usualy lifestyle, while the middle class will struggle a bit more to maintain their life style while the poor will bare the brunt of everything. Knesset salaries and perks need to be cut by more than 10% to atleast 20%, Free electricity to Electric company employees needs to be eliminated, corporate tax breaks needs to be reduced.

Please do not comment on things you know nothing about. Reagan lowered taxes, busted unions, added millions of jobs by his policies and created unprecedented wealth in the US. Stop with the left wing talking points. Facts are stubborn things.

sad to say. says one thing and when it comes down to it he does the opposite. (Tomi Lapid n civil marriage?????)

mind to it :-) This boy is sooooo talented.

a "dangerous" man. cannot trust him. worse than biib and lieberman. those 2 you might nor agree with but their word is a word. "this" lapid does the exact opposite.

All The Way, 2/503 Abn. Inf. Ct. (sep)

And a lot - a lot taken from middle class! What about Yashivot - no mention of them. What about hareidi sector getting money to study - no mention of that. What about rich getting richer and middle class is sinking in the sinking sand of taxes? You tood very very little from other sectors and heavy load again duped on middle class and weak sector! No one is looking after our interests! Everyone cheats!

It is unrealisitic to expect Lapid to solve all of the problems and take on all of the vested interests within one month - what he has done is to mark targets and start the job - but let''s at least be honest - the defiict was unstustainable - he is a junior partner in a coalition with limited political power and he is not free to act ashe or we would wish.

Lapid is not alone in his outrage that companies pay such low taxation - substantially below the standard tax rate for companies. It is legal under laws that have been passed, it may even be Kosher - but just like Parve puddings its pretty distatefull. Lapid's hands are tied here - its a long legislative process coupled with the real dangers of changing laws that affect investments and putting off investors. We however are not so bind and we can use the power of our pockets to change the way that companies work. If we decide to boycott companies that do not pay sufficient taxes then they will start paying taxes - it has happended abroad and it can happen here.

All sectors would mean that we stop paying the electricity bills of the 100,000 already overpaid IEC workers. Lapid didn't touch them. All sectors would mean I could apply for a job at the Ashdod port - wow, a 25 hour workweek and 40k sheks takehome pay!!! But no, Lapid didn't touch Aini's mafia who have an illegal stranglehold on jobs there. Then, of course, there's the banks - they'll have another bumper profits year with hundreds of millions in profits - untouched by Lapid. He's a wuss. He should quit and go home now.

"and the working class, some eight million families understood it to must take some of the burden and help Israeli economy. ", this eini is really amazing what planet is he living on - 8 million working class families in Israel. And Lapid justs stands next to him and nods. If they have not a clue of thepopulation count in israel, than how the hellck can we expect them to run this God damned country

The greatest feeling you will ever achieve is to be in the position of not giving a damn. Buy your needs, and stop dancing to your wants. Find your happiness elsewhere. Don't become a slave to want.

Ynet friends - get your numbers right. NIS2 billion are not $56 million and there are no 8 million working man's families in Israel. There are 8 million citizens (but maybe the this was Eini's mistake - he was quoted)

the day is comming where people realizing that this politition is a lier and he turned them against the Haredim to divert them from his evel plan against every one. Where is every one who beleived that Lapid is the redeemer of the poor ? where is every one who was shouting and crying Acusing the haredim of taking the money for theslves and not giving enough to others.? lapid was barking at the haredim and now he is biting every one not only the haredim

Well lets see he has cut the budget but he has also raised the debt celling allowing him to both borrow more to spend on the kind of popular projects. It raising the debt ceiling that allowed Greece to borrow more money that it could afford to repay. The credit rating agencies are so confident in Lapids skill as finance minister that Israel's credit rating has been downgraded which means money we do have to borrow gets repaid on less favourable terms. Lapid is taking us down the road that led to the problems they are having in Europe although when it comes to Israel we don't have Germany to bail us out. if Lapid wants to show leadership why doesn't he address the Knesset a little more instead of acting unilaterally and announce his decisions on Facebook first? Lapid i going to hurt the low income families, middle class and make Israel a less attractive place for business to want to invest. We should give up the idea of having a finance minister who is an MK and instead have an unelected professional who knows how to take care of the economy even if the Knesset will have the final vote on budget proposals.

The finance minister should be an unelected professional who has no interest in domestic politics and so isn't worried about getting reflected. An independent professional will understand about balancing the books, will make proposals and the Knesset will vote for or against so the democratic process is not taken out of it just the political ambition of the finance minister. Important posts like finance and defense ( we don't want another Peretz ) should be run by independent experts in their fields with the Knesset having the final say through a vote on the proposals.

These tax hikes will only hurt the poorest of us. 18% VAT means nothing to wealthy people. For us struggling to get through each month, any rise means doing without something. A poor guy can't afford to buy a beer after work. I understand, it's easy to put taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, but it just means people will stop buying OTHER things, which will hurt other parts of the economy. Quit smoking you say? Quitting smoking is about as easy as a politician quitting lying.

The rich have got a bigger share so they should pay a greater percent. All unwanted perks must be rid. Corporate tax breaks must be done away with and competition is healthy.