Ruta Mav: ‘When we don’t receive help, we feel cheated’

We believe that when they are elected, we will be rewarded. When we are not, we feel cheated, writes Ruta Marv.

Matthew 7.7.11 Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and he who knocks will have the door opened to you. Or is there any of you, if his son asks for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?”

These verses teach us a simple yet remarkable truth: God promises to answer the prayers of his people, so why don’t we spend more time in prayer? Why have we developed a spirit of silent cynicism? Is it because we don’t get that new job, that new car, or that patient dies that we stop believing?

When our governments play God in election years, promising they will listen to the people and help them, promising voters more than free hedge trimming and kekay. When they hold our future in check with promises of higher wages, protection for the elderly and a solution to debt. We believe they are elected and we get something. When we don’t, we feel cheated.

What was not said, what was not made transparent, what was not implied, was that they did not lie.

The promise of a pay raise remains — just without details on when, how much, for how long or for whom.

In 2020, Mark Brown promised as Finance Minister a pay rise of at least 3% for our key workers. Then immediately gave MPs a 45% pay rise. It will take a long time for the paltry pay they have secured for nurses, teachers and police officers. We asked them for help but they fend for themselves.

Brown said a 45% pay rise was reasonable and well-earned because the parliament hadn’t had a pay rise in 15 years. Well, most of them hadn’t been in office for 15 days, let alone actually worked 15 days in the whole year. They all agreed, and some opposition members agreed, because you know – if you can’t beat them, join them – right?

The average MP (most of whom are just regular people) went from $50,000 a year to over $72,000 a year, just as the COVID pandemic hit and most of us lost our jobs and incomes and no longer believed that the government was there to help people. Sure, they give everyone who is not a government worker an $8 an hour subsidy, but it is unbelievable that they think it is difficult to sit in Parliament and pretend they are doing anything. Then they have the audacity to complain and argue about their transport allowance, accommodation allowance, spouse transport and accommodation allowance, and their $5000 clothing allowance while the rest of the country is broke.

The government said they would give us free water, without charging us for it. Then they said they would charge for it and put meters on our household water supplies. Now, if you use less than this seemingly random amount, you won’t be charged, but those who use more than what they think is necessary per capita will be penalized.

We are punished for wasting water, but they are not punished for wasting money. If we use more than 400 liters per person per day, we have to pay, but when they spend $1.7 million on useless electric cars, who pays for this folly? We pay.

Will members of Congress give up bonuses, allowances or free utilities and cars? Absolutely not, I promise, the rules imposed on us will not apply to them.

How does this make sense when over 60% of our country’s population makes less than $18,000 a year and TTV has at least 6 employees making over $100,000 a year? Why are they surprised that people are petitioning to refuse to pay their water bills?

Governments are supposed to provide a decent living environment for the people they rule. The government’s job is to provide the basic necessities of life to the people, but when our tax dollars are used to provide leaders with generous benefits, quiet cynicism escalates into quiet roars.

How much does the government care about the voice of the people? The government didn’t care when the deputy prime minister attended a public meeting wearing a sports vest and sunglasses (he didn’t take off his sunglasses even after the power outage).

Another example is Tel Aviv University (TAU), a state-owned enterprise, which charges like a bull at a red flag, leaving its people to suffer for the fees.

Sign the petition – then share it with your councillor.