 |
| Source: Machetera |
The infamous Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, was named recently Vice-President of a regional committee of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA, funded by the CIA and a clear tool of support for tyrants and oligarchs everywhere in America - see notes below) and has been therefore assigned the extremely high salary of $6000 (~ €4800). While this salary would be very very good in wealthy and costly places like the USA or Europe, it is absolutely crazy for a Third World country with a socialist economy like Cuba, where almost all you need can be obtained at very low cost or simply gratis.
For example, with her new salary, Sánchez would be able to pay each month for 24,000 months of rent of a regular two rooms apartment in Havana. Alternatively she could use that money to buy 6000 new books that she would never read, 12,000 pizzas that her scrawny body would not be able to eat, 24,000 five-ball ice-cream cones, 60,000 kg. of chicken or pork meat, 4800 liters of gasoline... and of course unlimited healthcare attention or education because that is gratis in Cuba and that's what they really hate.
Interestingly she has not said a word about her new charge and salary in her blog, so dear of the mafioso power rings in Miami and Washington, in Madrid and Brussels.
You know what is really good about this? That she is now officially a spy and not anymore a "common" nagging girl who wanted to emigrate to Europe but found that nobody would paid her bills here, where she serves no purpose to the interests of imperialism. Instead they offered her a job in Havana... and a dream job it is.
She should have stayed in Europe and eat out of the trash bins, as so many, sadly, have to.
Sources:
As the EU and the US economies face increasing difficulties the people with lots of money would definitely like to invest in newer places. I just hope the Cuban and the other Latin American people say a polite no.
ReplyDeleteI checked out Wikipedia and it seems Cuba has done a good job in some sectors ~
Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate, an infant death rate lower than some developed countries, and an average life expectancy of 77.64. In 2006, Cuba was the only nation in the world which met the WWF's definition of sustainable development; having an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 for 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
BTW, food, books, and fuel seem really cheap in Cuba. While pure Capitalism provides us lots of apparent choices - many times we don't have the time to consume them. I've always valued my freedom and time.
Did you get the room rent right? $ 6000 for 24,000 months of rent.
A nice feature with images on the problems people are facing in different parts of Europe ~
DeleteThe problems in these countries are largely rooted in complex financial instruments that are hard to understand — and bloodless — but the fact is that they play out in the lives of ordinary people that don’t know what hit them.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/the-human-toll-of-europes-economic-statistics/
Double room apartment: apparently (for Cubans, not for tourists) hiring an apartment for a month is as cheap as going to the theater. Housing is a public service in Cuba and fees are symbolic. However you may not be able to choose the home - although a home swapping scheme has been introduced recently.
DeleteBut housing is also a public service, even if many not as extremely cheap nor maybe so common, also in many advanced capitalist countries like Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, etc. Essentially in my mind an advanced country is one where the basics (housing, healthcare, education and to some extent food and clothes) are free or nearly so and widely available. Cuba, with all its differences, is therefore in the same league a Switzerland or Scandinavia (or in the past also the Soviet bloc). Instead China does not provide free healthcare, a clear sign of it not being a true socialist regime - among others.
You can read the list at the original blog; it's in Spanish but a very simple ad lengthy list of what she could be able to pay with her capitalist cadre salary.
I would not trust the NYT too much on making any realistic analysis out of the box of the Capitalist Regime. The reality is that corporations, notably financial ones, led by Goldman Sachs, are growing into menacing neo-feudal baronies ad citizens are becoming serfs again with the pretext of austerity. Austerity for the commoners, that is - the rich are getting richer and richer and nobody touches them.
DeleteI just closed in another tab a criticism of NYT's approach to Latvia which you may find interesting: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/philip-pilkington-the-new-york-times-bizarre-and-misleading-praise-of-austerity-poster-child-latvia.html
Also: must watch: Great Latvia Success Story!