UTJ has successfully passed a law that has become widely recognized as being problematic, at best it is bad PR. The law is directly to benefit a UTJ crony, and there is nothing they can do but continue to promote it. While initially planning to expand the law, with others joining the bill proposal, all the other dropped off the bill as they realized how bad it looks, with little to no benefit to them, thus forcing UTJ to go back to the original plan of a localized bill.
The issue is how many deputy mayors can be appointed in a city and receive a salary for the position. Every city appoints deputy mayors based on how many people live in the city. Jerusalem, the city under scrutiny, is allowed to appoint 6 deputy mayors with salary. The law bumps that up to 8, based on the level of growth of the city of Jerusalem. While the law was going to be expanded to include any city that is above a certain size, the plan was scrapped as supporters pulled out.
The direct beneficiary of this law, besides the city of Jerusalem, is Yitzchak Pindros, current deputy mayor of Jerusalem from the UTJ party. Pindros is set to vacate his position, due to a rotation agreement within the various parties that make up UTJ. In order to give Pindros a salaried position, and to keep the Degel hand close to the mayors pockets, this law has been proposed and passed. (source: Bechadrei and Kikar)
This is why the additional supporters of the expanded law pulled out, as they realized how dirty of a law it is. Even though it has enough support, because the government leaders want to keep UTJ happy, and it passed, they realize how dirty it looks and how little benefit it gives to any of them.
What more is there to say? UTJ is dirty and passes laws just to protect their own jobs and salaries. While the social workers are striking because there is not enough money to pay them decent salaries, prices of basic food items and gasoline are increasing, yeshiva funding (a direct interest of UTJ) is being cut at every opportunity, and UTJ works to get somebody a job with a good salary.
I guess one could say they are working to lower unemployment..
"For according to the Torah laws, whoever takes a bribe is disqualified to pronounce judgement, whereas here all the members of Knesset take bribes. Only this week, the prime minister and his ministers convinced some of the factions to vote for them in exchange for a bribe, promising six million to one, seven million to the other, and ten million to another one. And where did they take it from? From the public funds and our money."
ReplyDelete-Rav Shach
Excuse me but the social workers in this country do more harm than good. They need files to keep their jobs and abuse their positions. They are known to try to remove kids from homes based upon their own self-interest of promotions. My own child overheard one of them asking a classmate in the library "your kids beat you, right...". The child said no, who told you that. The social worker said "dont lie to me, we know they do, just tell me yes" She was leading him like at a trial. My child left at this point. I called the principal to alert them and prevent a possible family catastrophe and the principal said "no one would ever lead the child that way." The educational system is corrupt and they protect themselves (the administration, yoetzot, social workers, sayot, etc).
ReplyDeletewhether that is true or not, as a rule, I dont know. your experience is simply anecdotal, not indicative of the whole system.
ReplyDeleteAs well, I know a number of fine social workers, some of whom are frum Jews themselves, and they do their job with integrity and are not simply trying to remove kids from homes.
besides for that, this post was not about social workers, and this comment doesnt really have anything to do with the post. my mention of social workers was simply a current example of a group of government employees who are grossly underpaid, along with many other, though I am sure we can all debate which positions deserve more and which less, and the government cant seem to find the money to pay them a decent wage.