Last week, I questioned if Israel’s economic planners were able to listen to the confusion and distress in various parts of the economy. The boom decade since 2002 seems truly forgotten, due to lack of dynamic leadership.

Yesterday’s news did nothing to help mitigate that sinking feeling.

1. The rate of VAT is to be reduced by 1% tonight to 17%. Great, but various surveys reveal that the overall net effect for somebody earning 10,000 nis (US$2,500) a month – approximately the average monthly salary – is about 30 nis. No big deal in the end! Waste of effort?
2. More indicators have been released that the retail sector is in trouble. It appears that sales in large supermarkets were down by 1.6% in the period up to the Jewish New Year, one of the established testing periods. Oops!
3.  The housing market is still being determined by speculators and investors. In 2015, it will take the average salary  earner 146 months to buy a flat. Less than 10 years ago in 2008, the same stat was 103 months. Ouch!

There may not be large scale poverty in Israel, but people are beginning to feel it and becomes unhappy.

The icing on the cake was finally revealed today. For at least a week, the shops have been short of key essentials such as many core vegetables, fresh meat, eggs and milk. The Herzog blames government has been placed on the Jewish festivals, which this year have landed on weekdays. Thus, people have not been able to work. Thus deliveries have not reached the towns. And, some of these dates have clashed with a Muslim religious celebration.

Come off it!  Such coincidences happened every few years. A more acceptable explanations revolve around the government’s continued tolerance of Israel tolerates restrictive practices. Farmers are protected from imports by prohibitive tariffs. Workers in meat slaughter houses have very generous terms of work. And that is before we get to start about the unions at the ports.

Should the government do something? Can these 30 ministers take any affirmative action?

Last week, military cemeteries in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem conducted ceremonies to remember the fallen of the Yom Kippur War. These are bitterly solemn occasions. No minister was available to attend the events in Haifa and in Tel Aviv. ………So you think they are going to worry over some eggs and tomatoes for those they are supposed to represent?