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"Straczynski told "Globes," "The research data show that the housing crisis mainly hit household groups with small children under 9. They were the ones forced to give up on the dream of owning a home. "
The percentage of families with children under nine who are renting their homes jumped from 21% in 2003 to 33% in 2011, a new study has found. The research by Hebrew University Public Policy Institute and Van Leer Institute Prof. Michel Straczynski and Bank of Israel head of public sector analysis."
"Massachusetts is another location that has become a magnet for Israeli high-tech. Where are Israeli hi-tech and large sections of the scientific community going and why? Israel loses a large portion of one of its most precious "commodities". The "Brain-drain" is a painful issue especially around Nobel Prize time. We must act to provide incentives and a "smooth landing" in order to attract these people to return."
"Minister of Finance Yair Lapid's plan to build 150,000 rental apartments will cost NIS 50 billion, there is no mention how the gov't which has already raised taxes and cut back on critical services will, and at whose expense will pay for it. The real estate industry does not believe the rental housing plan at all. Contractors regret that no one consulted with them in drawing up the plan; assessors call it "hallucinatory". Real Estate Appraisers Association in Israel chairman Ehud Danus has criticized the plan at every opportunity. Even if it is doable it's an excellent method to prevent working people from owning their own homes and simultaneously institutionalize poverty.
The Israeli Ministry of Finance surprised the public and proposed collecting a 3.5% purchase tax on the entire cost of apartments for people moving upmarket without offering any explanation in the budget. The Ministry of Finance refused to give out the data, which would reveal the injustice of the proposed tax and the extent to which it would hit lower income groups."
"Bad news for homebuyers and renters alike || Housing prices in Israel are climbing faster than wages. Socially this means people are continually earning less. As a result more of the working population finds itself unable to pay bills and fall under the poverty line. 64% of the people under the poverty line are employed!! This translates into less education, more crime, many more under-nourished children and much more."