Many Cubans don't work, at least not officially

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.

Loraicys said she has blanketed all the state agencies that run tourist resorts near her home with résumés, but she lacks the high school diploma required for even menial work. So she spends most days hanging out in front of her house, watching horse-and-buggies go by in this Colonial city east of Havana known as Ciudad Bandera, because it is where the national flag was first raised on May 19, 1850."

Rest of Article Here

$7 a month???? $10 a month????? Welcome to the great prosperity of a truly communist nation. This is what the fools in Venezuela can look forward to. If you want to destroy an economy, just put it all under government control.

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

They sure can play baseball and pilot shoddy rafts to get to US though.

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ABoyNamedSue - Speaking of Crestwoods posts - And then there'll be some link to some page, written in hindu or something, talking about sherpas and A&W root beer, and how George Bush is to blame for some Jewish neo-nazi death camp, run by Elvis Presley, on the far side of the moon that's been busted for killing kittens or something

Sorry truth-bringer but that article is from the Miami Herald. They are the number 1 propagandist media network against the Cuban struggle. I consider them to be more biased than anything out of Cuba.

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America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

Then prove where the facts cited in the article are wrong.

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

It's all here

http://origin-hdrstats.undp.org/coun...ty_ds_CUB.html


Sorry wrong link. I have over 900 links about Cuba in my computer. Be patient, I'm looking for it.

Here are some 2006 numbers. I know employment has strengthened since this time.

__________________
America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

I also forgot to mention that the main reason why the Cuban economy is bad is because of the US embargo.

The harmful economic effects of the embargo

http://www.alternatives.ca/article876.html

__________________
America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

I completely agree.. i like you tuatara

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Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
-Dr. Carl Sagan

I would imagine that many Cubans work on the black market to avoid government interference, much as the Russians did in Soviet times. These jobs wouldn't show up on the official reports.

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"I am in favor of Free Trade"

--Karl Marx

From my understanding, when I was in Cuba, there isn't much of a Black Market in Cuba. There is one but I think it's pretty small comparatively.

__________________
America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

So would it be safe to say you're an admirer of Cuba?

I don't see where any of that refutes the information in the original article.

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer