Kahlon hits the ground running at the Finance Ministry
In meeting with senior staffers, new finance minister lays out plans for 2015, including launching housing programs, reforming banking sector, devising five-year defense budget.
"I've come here to put things into practice," Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said at his first meeting on Monday with senior treasury officials, insisting in his opening remarks that he intends to fulfill his election campaign promises.
"If you take a good look, you will still see the billboards in the city streets that announce my intention to come to the treasury to change things," the new minister said.
Kahlon then went on to present his worldview to his senior staffers. "The economy," he said, "is designed to serve the individual. I'm pleased to have found that I will be working with a staff of sympathetic and professional people, some of the best there are, who are committed to the agenda. The fact that a young couple can't afford to buy an apartment upsets them too, and they are working day and night to come up with solutions."
Kahlon also laid out his principle objectives and plans for the remainder of the year, with the senior treasury officials hearing, inter alia, of the formulation of new housing programs that will see prices drop considerably within two to three years; the introduction of new players into the banking sector to promote competition; the creation of a five-year defense budget that will put an end to annual pressures; reforms to encourage economic growth; adoption of all the recommendations of the anti-poverty commission; new plans to fortify the public health system; pension increases for the lowest-paid workers in the economy; and efforts to combat the high cost of living by means of new consumer-oriented programs.
The new minister stressed that the first meeting of the ministry's management would focus on the issues he raised during the election campaign.
"I'm talking about dealing with the housing crisis and the issue of competition in the banking sector, the financial market in particular and in the economy in general," he said.
"My worldview says that competition is the consumer's best friend. The lack of competition is costing Israeli citizens a lot of money. Unfortunately, the weaker people are, the more they pay; and the stronger they are, the less they pay – when it comes to banking, commission and management fees, and in every area of our lives. These distortions must come to an end."
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The minister also revealed that outgoing ministry director-general Yael Andorn had already presented him with a wealth of economic programs ready to be put into motion.
"The treasury already has plans for dealing with the lack of competition in the economy," Kahlon said. "The treasury director-general has given me a booklet with numerous reforms, implementation of just 15 percent of which would significantly boost the state's economy.
"Needless to say, but we are committed to growth; we are committed to increasing the size of the pie, to supporting and encouraging commerce, and to bettering the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel."
