Bar-On: Israel must not run an 'Israbluff policy'
Finance minister presents 2008 state budget, says 'we must adopt budgetary responsibility as a way of life, and it would be a huge mistake to buy the present at the expense of the future'
"We must not run a Israbluff policy if we want to belong to the community of developed countries," Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On said Sunday as he presented the 2008 state budget amounting to NIS 294 billion (about $68 billion).
The minister stressed that the budget was based on a clear and consistent structure loyal to the government's list of priorities and constituting a direct continuation of Olmert government policy which focused on two issues: Education and society.
"Israel must adopt budgetary responsibility as a way of life, and it would be a huge mistake to buy the present at the expense of the future," Bar-On said, adding that "any deviation from this policy is only possible in times or war or deep recession, and fortunately we are not facing such circumstances at the moment."
The minister said that maintaining Israel's fiscal objectives was significant in raising the certainty regarding the economy's strength and stability and was a clear signal regarding the trends of the Israeli economy, which aspires to reach a competitive and efficient market and a more efficient and professional public service.
Therefore, he said, "We must not give in to temptation and adopt solutions which evade a fiscal discipline, and we must not run an Israbluff policy."
He stressed that "we must rid ourselves of the illusion which gained momentum in the past month, that we possess sources that can be used for any goal."
'Defense budget recognizes strategic reality'
Bar-On added that a responsible state could not just increase its expenses as long as its incomes were growing, particularly when the state suffered from a relatively high level of public expenditure in government debt.
"The exaggerated demands for budgetary growth by government and Knesset members in light of the income surplus are an illusion and a troubling phenomenon," he said.
Addressing the dispute over the defense budget, Bar-On said that the 2008 budget expressed the need to recognize the State's strategic and geopolitical reality as well as the need to allocate additional resources to the defense establishment.
Referring to the sharp losses in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the finance minister said this was a response to the losses in worldwide stock exchanges, "But the losses, like the gains before them, are proof that Israel should run a responsible economy over time."
