Cuba starts dismantling Socialism
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:42 am
Cubans often complain that the communist island, with its wide-ranging social benefits, is a place where too many live off the dole, a situation Castro has complained about in a number of speeches and vowed to change.
"Our state cannot and should not continue maintaining companies, productive entities, services and budgeted sectors with bloated payrolls (and) losses that hurt the economy, are counterproductive and form bad work habits," a trade union federation statement said in 2010, when plans were first announced to push state employees into the "non-state" sector.
Many of those without jobs still enjoy free health care, education, subsidized food ration and other government services while also dealing in Cuba's vast black market, engaging in minor business activity and trading on the margins of the law.
Clara, a 36-year-old Havana resident, was laid off two years ago from her job as a secretary for a state-run security company, given one month's pay, another month of unemployment benefits and then left to fend for herself.
Instead of looking for another job, she decided to do manicures and hair styling, working under the radar without getting the small-business license required by the state.
Clara said she charged 24 pesos (1 dollar) for a manicure and about the same for hair styling, and brought home maybe 500 pesos, or about $20 per week.
That is considerably more than the $15 a month she earned with the government, but not enough to get legal.
"I only do my friends and as far as I'm concerned make too little to go through all the bother of registering my business and paying taxes," she said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/27/cuba-economy-reform-idUSL1E8NQ23A20121227
Of course the stated goal as per the rest of the article is to try and maintain Socialism (further proving my earlier point in another post that Socialism cannot sustain itself). But as they shift to to a market economy, the inefficiencies will become too apparent and they will abandon it altogether. China is in the same boat but is much farther along. Despite the recent victories over Big Labor, the USA is headed in a direction to pass them up going the opposite way.
And notice that last highlight. They're already starting to do what it takes to avoid paying taxes.....
