Q&A: The Haredim Don’t Work?
The Haredim Don’t Work?
Question
Have a good week!
People claim that Haredim don’t pay taxes and don’t work. In response, I’d like to argue that in reality there is no Haredi family in which at least the wife doesn’t work, and nowadays they even work in good jobs. So on what basis can one claim that the fact that the husband doesn’t work is a problem? Who decided that the norm is for both of them to work? After all, until a few decades ago the norm even among the secular public was that only the husband worked. Just because they think the level of economic growth in the country should be based on both spouses working, that can’t ethically be imposed on someone who holds otherwise, can it?
Thank you very much!
Answer
First, there is data on Haredi income, and it is dramatically lower than that of other populations. Second, the Haredim do not allow their people to be employed even if they wanted to. They have no education, etc. Therefore, even the jobs they do work in are usually not the kind that contribute significantly to the economy. All this also leads to enormous support from the state. And third, they also contribute almost nothing in any other area either (army, police, high-tech, etc.).
Discussion on Answer
K, as I argued—who decides what the proper demographic growth is, and what the desired standard of living should be?! The secular people, specifically?
Also, a study by the Kohelet Forum shows that a significant percentage of Haredi women work only part-time. The study also shows that a Haredi family costs the taxpayer more than ten thousand shekels per month. With the demographic growth, this is definitely a reality that is not sustainable.
According to Bank of Israel data, the damage to GDP is already more than 35 billion a year because large parts of them do not work.
And the estimates for our future are not encouraging, as can be seen in the left-wing newspaper “Israel Hayom”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.israelhayom.co.il/business/article/13062037%3famp=1