you took the words out of a million israelis.raising a family in israel has never been easy but after my 32 years of living,working and raising my children i have seen the long slippery slide into the haves (everything) and the working poor (the silent majority of us) i finally finished paying for our house after 30 years of worrying paying the bank.i don't even want to think how much i payed! life is changing all over the world sami and israel has become just another place.am i worried about fall of the younger generation,yes i am.

Dear Sami, I believe you perfectly know that however it's not fair to have so big a difference in the income of the super wealthy and the common people; the problem is that this is the way of capitalism! That's what we teach our kids in school! So please, next time do some serious talk and not populism (which is part of the same game you critizise)

Sami some of us remember how it was under Mapai and we aren't interested in going back there. Save your communism for Cuba and N Korea.

and the same injustices would happen if the PM was from Meretz. Human nature is human nature. I don't see ANY Knesset members asking for less money or benefits.

... about High Court, which is "undermined" by the Government - that's what the author is worried about.

a quote: "food prices in Israel are about 25% higher than in the United States and Western Europe" Kashrut, baby. Another inderict Tax to religious institutions. Kashrut is a flourishing business makes the same food and drinks e.g. Coca Cola cost higher without making it healthier.

You are so right, I too am worried about the younger generation, who cannot cope without the backing of their families. I am worried about the poor who dont have enough food. I am worried about the Holocaust survivours, who are now, once again, struggling to survive. Capitalism? nope, it's caring for ones fellow man. If the rich folk in Israel would stop thinking only about themselves & start caring for the poor; if every single member of Knesset, Generals in IDF, Corporate directors etc, would take a salary cut, there would be ample amount of money for out poor folk in Israel. The dire situation here will not improve, it will only become worse if the above mentioned don't tighten their belts & help the poor. No adult, no child in Israel should go to bed at night on an empty stomach.

Boker Tov, Sami, did you just realize that the world is not fair and that the politicians eat off of our hard earned money? We sadly there is nothing we can do about it unless we start a political party to end politics. Vote for me and I will stop all graft and corruption in politics. Don't forget to send me a donation so that I can pay my bills while I am running for office. Once I am there, I will just skim money from the public funds...

Extravagance is not criminal as long as one pays for it without stealing, or illegally abusing unapproved government funds. The latter is frequently done by those who typically appear in the quoted poverty statistics (payments to Yeshivoth and those studying there evading an actual job). If a politician abuses funds, he/she needs to be indicted, if funds are used legally, but 'the public' wishes to restrict them, Knesseth needs to pass a bill. For all other cases: stop the populistic whining, politicians are today under greater scrutiny than in the 'good old days'. Then, they didn't have so Much money, but used government property as if it were their own. The photo of Netanyahu's villa is uncalled for, as he payed it with his legally acquired money. But in Sami Michael's 'People's Republic of Israel' being wealthy is a punishable crime.

I too, remembered the times of mapai and mapam and the times of Amkor and Amron, but Sami is talking about is that in any society, desceny is of utmost importance. The PM. and some other officials o not care for the poor. If they care, they should do much more. This issue should be foremost on their agenda. Poor and hungry and homeless in ISRAEL ??? SHAME ON SUCH A GOVERNMENT.

( this is the way of capitalism )What a bullshit. Don't tell us that this a axiom of life. There is another example of capitalism from North Europe. This is just something wrong happening in Israel. First of all we citizen must recognize it as wrong and needed change. Then organize to change this.

If their is a Palmach redistribution how will it unfold .The Incentives to get rich drive people but so does the incentives to feed the Family.Then there is the Corruption The Greasy Palms The Gallus Donation Rip Offs.But some money gets through.For the Jews the Talmud has many ethics and a Regulated Economy .Human Nature though is not Saintly or even Righteous with some exceptions that are near Righteous.There are Israeli Moguls and many in the Gallus Wax Fat.

Extravagance is not criminal as long as one pays for it without stealing, or illegally abusing unapproved government funds. The latter is frequently done by those who typically appear in the quoted poverty statistics (payments to Yeshivoth and those studying there evading an actual job). If a politician abuses funds, he/she needs to be indicted, if funds are used legally, but 'the public' wishes to restrict them, Knesseth needs to pass a bill. For all other cases: stop the populistic whining, politicians are today under greater scrutiny than in the 'good old days'. Then, they didn't have so Much money, but used government property as if it were their own. The photo of Netanyahu's villa is uncalled for, as he payed it with his legally acquired money. But in Sami Michael's 'People's Republic of Israel' being wealthy is a punishable crime.

with poor people. They feel that it's just too bad if you're poor; either you're lazy, or just very ignorant. So don't wait for the rich to help out. If the rich weren't so self centered, they would realize that it's possible to go a step too far, and suddenly find yourselves taxed to oblivion because you pissed off a lot of poor.

Tool really think anyone is buying into his "revolutionary" slogans?! Only this week I visited two young, professional couples, that bought their first apartments with two salaries. Who's buying all these apartments, that are being built at fantastic rate all over the country? Rich French and British olim? C'mon, this country is flourishing like never before and here we have this old Apparatchik, with a chip on his shoulder doing a Che Guevarra!

You are right! Problem is that what is being done by the government is legal! I agree that change is needed!

say that the Israelis DO NOT LIKE TO WORK!!!!! Why do we need so many foreigners to come and care for our parents, why do we need Chinese and Rumanians for our construction business, why Thai people are in our fields.... yes, the Israeli wants a flat, a car, travel abroad, week-ends in Eilat, Shabbat with the whole family in a seaside restaurant, but to work hard for it.....NO, let's take in all the slaves we can and let's go on whining. My Mum has a house help who is supposed to work 8 hours a week but actually only works half of it, because as she says: "What you want me to work like a donkey for 24 shekels an hour??" but even for 50 shekels an hour she is not willing to make an effort. Of course she is Israeli. That is why all the "refugees" in South Tel Aviv have no problem, with or without a working visa, finding some job.

Amen.

Corruption across the board in Israel society, is the culprit. Planning laws, black economy, evasion of taxes by super rich, the Chareidi great robbery , accepting inefficiency, are factors that rob the whole society of value that would otherwise supply better standards . Sami, All Heads of state, Ministers and hierarchy , combined lifestyle costs would not measure to but a small part in the big national picture Lawyers support this culture. They know the system is clogged, they know few take responsibility. so they go along and make a living Lapid is sadly too concerned with his personal grooming and his image to think this through. A root and branch movement to tackle corruption and inefficiency is the only way to sort out this mess

A political group that never protests when the victims aren't leftists, Arabs or illegal migrants

What Sami is saying is true in all countries regardles if capitalistic, socialist or communist. The leaders live a far better standard of life than those who are simply citizens. Why is it people are willing to work for nothing to be on a school board? It is because it is the stepping stone to elected office and they can move up the elected ladder and drink at the public trough forever. You start poor and come out a millionaire. We the voters complain about them but rarely vote them out of office. In countries that elect our officials we have no one to blame but ourselves.

If Bibi can prevent a second holocaust of another 6 million Jews then I do not care how much he spends. Yet if he lets Iran get a nuclear bomb then he is not even worth one sheckel.

The article is accurate if bit polemic. Do read the article lower down on the YNet front page: "OECD: Israel poverty high despite strong economy" http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4462858,00.html

In Israel people can grow from rags to riches. There have not been so many young successful entrepreneurs & millionaires ever before. Youngsters with a drive, good ideas and a will to 'make it. It comes with hard work + a little luck, but certainly not by complaining, envy and protesting against the good fortunes of others. There is no ''equality in the world, there never was. Not in Capitalism and certainly not in Socialistic or Communistic societies. There those in rags, stay in rags. People have to make/find their own ''fortune (not only money) and not wait until it's given to them on a platter. That will never happen.

I am in the UK now forty years and i can write the same talkback as you .honest

Poverty is caused by poor decisions in general. Being poor and voting for Bibi would be one of those poor decisions. The wonderful thing about democracy is you can get rid of a corrupt leader...if you want to. Here the majority is still quite happy with corruption and poverty, they voted for it!

It's sad that the problem of corruption interests the Left only as a tool to attack the Zionists. To seize power and save the PLO terror organization, the Left falsely accused Shamir of corruption, Israel's most honest PM. Now, we hear baseless accusations against Netanyahu, exactly when Iran is acquiring nukes, the Middle-East is undergoing meltdown, the EU under Ashton is attacking Israel and the most anti-Israel US President is in power. Why was the Left silent during the truly corrupt Barak, Sharon and Olmert regimes? Where was Sami Michael during the Goldfarb affair?

Bibi.you disgusting man .how can you sleep at night.jewish spring comin

At supermarkets in Israel only the most common of the food items cost 25% more than in California, Most of the food items in Israel cost 50% to 200% more than what we pay in California. For cottage cheese, for instance, we pay 2.5 dollars for what costs 23.75 shekels in Israel.

I don't live in Israel so I have no right to express opinions, but I will ask a question. The Shas and UTJ parties seemed to be most concerned with protecting the poor, but Bennett would not enter the coalition without Lapid. If things are getting worse, can't there be a vote of no confidence in the present coalition?