The pain of the cement workers is clear and we can identify with their traffic-blocking protest.
But the implications of continuing the ban on import of cement to Israel will be that the cost of the expensive Israeli cement will be covered by the young couples and those who have a hard time affording a home of their own. It is much more logical to open the cement market, bring down the cost of building materials and housing prices – and to levy a new tax on all Israelis: the cement workers tax.
Just think about it:
The cement workers will sit at home and continue to receive their salaries. Their unneeded salaries will not burden only the lower-income families, but will be equally divided between everyone. And we won’t even have to deal with the air pollution from the cement factories…
And now, seriously. All regulation, any blocking of the open market will ultimately fall on the shoulders of the lower income population. Those who gain from the mad centralization of Israel’s economy are the industries with a strong lobby, the cronies and the insiders.
Furthermore, the next time the cement workers decide to block traffic, they should ask my advice on how to do it properly. Or they should read my book, “Where There Are No Men”.
Click here for Zehut's economic platform.
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