print“The Med’s Best Kept Secret”: “Israel today has become a vibrant, functioning jewel of a nation tucked into the eastern flank of the Mediterranean. Tel Aviv looks more like San Diego or Barcelona than Baghdad or Kabul.” … it maintains “a stable macroeconomic structure and a strong high-tech sector.” …
“What’s the secret? Ayelet Nir, chief economist at IBI, an Israeli investment firm, lists six major reasons Israel’s economy has done well of late:
A very conservative banking system–without most of the complex and problematic financial instruments found in the United States.
No mortgage crisis in a country where putting 50 percent down isn’t unusual, and banks often ask for guarantors.
A current account surplus since 2003.
Negligible inflation.
Prudent governmental fiscal policy.
Healthy integration into the world economy.
“Israeli technology has certainly been a big part of the Internet age. The cell phone? Developed in Israel. Ditto for most of the Windows NT operating system and for voice mail technology. Pentium MMX Chip technology? Designed in Israel. AOL Instant Messenger? Developed in Israel. The list goes on. Firewall security software originated in Israel. The latest breakthrough is the “PillCam,” a video camera that can be swallowed and aids physicians in diagnosing intestinal cancer.”…
How has Israel managed to do so well in high-tech? Every Israeli high-tech player can recite the national data like a bleacher bum spitting out baseball statistics:
Israel produces more science papers per capita than any other country.
Israel lags behind only the United States in number of companies listed on NASDAQ.
Twenty-four percent of Israel’s workforce has a university degree; only the United States and Holland have a higher number.
Israel leads the world in scientists and technicians per capita.”
Update: Israel is doing something else right: deporting illegal immigrants without much fuss.
Their universities probably produce higher quality graduates as well.
Maybe a wise use of our H-1B visas would be to grant them to some members of the OZ unit, because our Border Patrol could sure use the help.
Reflecting upon the apprehension of American tourists at the Iranian border, one could remark with some irony that both Israel and Iran could teach a thing or two to the US about border control.
The Arab world has hit upon fool proof plan for Israel’s downfall. 1) Start smuggling in American teachers for the Israeli school system. 2) Get the Israeli public hooked on “Oprah” and “American Idol”. That’ll bring those uppity Jews down to American level. Therefore easily bamboozled by the arabs.