[BretLudwig]

Cuba's Cartoon Economy

"Since Cuba barely exports anything, its currency's exchange rate is
practically below zero. The Miami Herald reports:

CARDENAS, Cuba -- Loraicys is 27 years old, has never worked, and
refuses to take just any job. She is not alone. As Raúl Castro embarks on
an ambitious plan to kick-start the communist nation's economy, he faces
daunting challenges: Many Cubans simply do not work.

Decades of measly salaries and vast government subsidies have kept
many young people off the labor rolls because it's more lucrative to
hustle on the street. Others live comfortably enough off remittances from
Miami and elsewhere.

Loraicys passes on neighborhood janitor positions in hopes of
higher-paying work at nearby resort hotels, where she also would have a
chance of earning tips in dollars.

''I am not going to tell you something different: there are jobs here
in Cárdenas where I live. Doing what? Cleaning hospitals for 150 pesos
($7) a month,'' said Loraicys, a single mom. ``For 150 pesos, I would
rather stay home with my kid. I am willing to work really hard, but not
for nothing in return.''

While Cuba struggles to increase productivity, it must also find a way
to entice hundreds of thousands of people to get a job. The dilemma is one
of the profound systemic difficulties Castro faces as he tries to create a
so-called modern socialist economy.

The government says there are plenty of jobs -- just low-paying ones
Cubans won't take. Even educated professionals would rather work in the
tourist industry as waiters or taxi drivers, which earn far more money
than state jobs that usually offer about $10 a month.

Ten dollars a month? That's what the pay would be for a job that Porky Pig
applies for in a 1941 Warner Bros. cartoon.

Cubans in Miami probably put all their pennies in a big jar and every
January ship it to Havana for their relatives to live off for the whole
year.

Cuba has 2000 miles of coastline, and there's nothing golfers like more
than playing alongside the ocean, but only one golf course has been built
in the country since the Revolution. The smaller, formerly more-backward
Dominican Republic has 22 golf courses, and its famous ocean-front Teeth
of the Dog course charges outside players $225 per round, which is twice
what a Cuban makes in a year."

http://isteve.blogspot.com/2008/06/c...oon-wages.html

--
Message posted using http://www.talkaboutaudio.com/group/rec.audio.opinion/
More information at http://www.talkaboutaudio.com/faq.html