It must be either naivete or cynicism that allows “Israel 2028” recommend a reform that will make government a larger and a more efficient instrument for economic growth.
As long as education remains a government monopoly, it is bound to function like all other government monopolies, where union bosses fill the vacuum that lack of defined ownership creates, and monopoly power allows them to blackmail the public.
A recent Merage Foundation conference gathered major industry and academic players with the goal of helping Israel’s hi-tech sector grow. Calls were heard for more government “direction” despite sixty years of massive government intervention and “development efforts” that have led mostly to massive failures and waste.
President Shimon Peres, we all know, is a man of visions. Some have been better than others. The less successful ones, that translated into costly, failing and even dangerous policies, were those that denied reality.
Erel Margalit, one of Israel’s hi-tech leaders, may run for mayor of Jerusalem. He wants to follow Houston’s mayor, who “brought music to the city.” Maybe music helped, but more likely its success was predicated on its being a pro-business town.
