Even a year from now, after every Israeli has received a vaccine against COVID-19, the ramifications of the pandemic will still be with us. In fact, they can be expected last for many years.
Even so, the Israeli government is doing nothing to prepare economically for this situation and instead has opted to finance unemployment benefits without any restrictions or limitations. We will all have to pay the price for this - with added interest.
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A cafe is closed on Tel Aviv beach due to coronavirus restrictions
(Photo: Yaron Sharon)
The information released on Sunday by the Israeli Employment Service is frightening. There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed people in Israel, more than half of them under the age of 34 and one third of them women.
Unemployment benefits have been promised through June 2021, giving many of these job seekers a false sense of security.
But this a trap and we are the mice caught in it. All of us, rich and the poor, employed and jobless, will bear the brunt of this decision for the next generation or two.
We will all have to pay for the unemployment benefits and the one-off stipends showered on every citizens due to an irresponsible cabinet decision last spring.
We should expect the budget deficit to skyrocket in the coming years even as the government stands to receive reduced revenues. But those at the helm prefer to ignore the danger as they increase their needless spending.
An observation of Israeli spending habits shows a trend of reduced in-store shopping and increased online purchases that will require less sales staff and more logistical manpower. This will mean less shops and malls and less jobs in them, but there is no advanced thought or planning on the part of the government to prepare for such changes.
Much has been said about the changes expected in the workforce, aside and apart from the coronavirus pandemic. Technological advances and the prevalence of robots replacing man-hours in more industries and services are a contributing factor.
This should come as no surprise to anyone, but in Israel - as usual - no one is thinking or planning ahead.
When the pandemic hit, these processes intensified. At first there was some talk in the cabinet of the need for a national plan to divert workers to in demand jobs, but it went no further than that and no practical steps were ever taken.
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Business owners demonstrate in Tel Aviv against government policy during the coronavirus pandemic
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Israel's current economic policy for the pandemic is to simply spend more and more money. There is money for the unemployed and money to ensure political stability, but there is none allocated to job training to meet future demands.
Israelis should enjoy the money handed out to them while it lasts, but we would all be wise to understand that someone eventually has to foot the bill