The prestigious Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel released a new report today that reportedly finds that Israel has the widest income gaps in the Western world. Israel also has high poverty rates, and many people who are forced to forego dental care, heating or air conditioning, and even food because of their poverty.
Poverty, Income Gaps Largest In Developed World – Even Without Counting Haredim, Arabs, Report Finds
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The prestigious Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel released a new report today that reportedly finds that Israel has the widest income gaps in the Western world, Globes reported.
Israel also has high poverty rates, and many people who are forced to forego dental care, heating or air conditioning, and even food because of their poverty.
The report also reportedly found that the income gap within Israel's middle class is the highest of all Western countries with the income of Israel's 75th percentile being 2.8 times the income of the 25th percentile.
But even more devastating is the state reaction to the pervasive poverty and inequality.
"The effectiveness of the welfare and tax systems in alleviating poverty is the lowest among developed countries, even more than in the US," according to the report.
Even without including Arabs and haredim – two groups with very low employment rates – the poverty rate is still very high.
On top of that, poverty among children "is the highest among developed countries.” One third of Israeli children live in poverty.
And those Israelis who do work are not very productive. The report found that productivity in all sector of the workforce – except for agriculture – is among the lowest among all developed countries in the world.
For haredi men, those few with college degrees tend to do well.
The employment rate of haredi men with a college degree is 71% and their average salary is NIS 13,565 ($3,830) per month.
But only 34% of haredi men without a college degree work and those working haredim make only NIS 7,800 ($2,206) per month.
Across the entire Israeli society, poverty causes 34% forego heating or cooling their homes, 20% have to cut back on food, and 13% use less electricity and communications (telephones, etc.).
Almost 50% of Israelis who need dental care forego it because money. 16% do the same other medical treatment, and 15% forego medicines.
Even the middle class suffers.
• More than half of the middle class forego heating or cooling their homes.
• 30% cut back on food.
• 16% use less electricity and communications.
• More than 50% forego dental care.
Among the upper middle class:
• 30% forego heating or cooling their homes.
• 14% cut back on food.
• 35% forego dental care.