Let them adopt the muzzie system: use their left hands. On Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Cold Water <[email protected]> wrote:
> How End-Users Suffer Under Socialism > > By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, August 11, 2009 4:20 PM PT > > *Economic Systems:* If you ever wonder why we so resist socialism, > consider the latest news out of that collectivist island paradise known as > Cuba. > > Central planners announced this week that they were fresh out of money to > buy toilet paper — yes, toilet paper — for the island's 9 million citizens. > But not to worry. A nameless official for state-run monopoly Cimex and > quoted by Reuters assured that "the corporation has taken all the steps so > that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet > paper." > > The predicament would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. But toilet tissue > is hardly the only item Cuba is lacking. Food itself is in short supply, > with red bean and chickpea rations cut by a third, according to the Miami > Herald. Special hard-currency-only stores for the elites have mysteriously > failed to open after last week's "inventory," with no explanation given. > > There's no gas, either. The Associated Press this week reported that state > planners have decreed that oxen — yes, oxen — would replace tractors in the > fields, a bid to conserve fuel. This, despite the fact that Cuba gets > 100,000 barrels of oil a day from Hugo Chavez's Venezuela — effectively > free, because Cuba never pays its bills. > > But again, not to worry: Cuban socialists say the ox represents progress > because it's so eco-friendly. > > As these examples of Cuban progress roll in, CNN is presenting Cuba's > socialized health care system as "a model for health care reform in the > United States," according to a report on the cable network last week. The > report credits low cost and universal coverage. > > "How does Cuba do it?" gushed the CNN anchor. "First of all, the government > dictates salaries. Doctors earn less than $30 per month — very little > compared to doctors elsewhere. And priority is given to avoiding expensive > procedures, says Gail Reed (a contributor to the Cuban communist party > propaganda organ Granma), who's lived and worked in Cuba for decades." > > But instead of pluses, these features are at the root of why the Cuban > system is not a model. Government-dictated salaries — like Medicare payments > here — reduce incentives for doctors to provide quality care. And when cheap > procedures are a priority — as they are, say, in the U.K. — teeth get pulled > instead of filled. But the basic problem with socialism is that there's > literally nothing there. > > CNN gives little attention to the fact that hospitals in Cuba have no > Band-Aids and are short on aspirin and actual medicine. Photos from > TheRealCuba.com show hospitals strewn with filthy mattresses, infested with > cockroaches and full of bony patients nursing ugly bedsores. The only plenty > within Cuba's universal coverage system is one of want. > > The scary thing is that if you copy that system, the same shortages appear. > Take Venezuela, which is following the socialist model and now suffers > shortages of milk, meat, steel, gasoline and tires. (Yes, it too had a run > on toilet paper a few years back.) > > This week, the country crossed its first milestone for socialist street > cred. It was forced for the first time in its history to import a crop it > has grown exquisitely well since 1730: coffee. > > The problem with the telltale shortages in Cuba isn't a few incompetents at > a state-owned toilet-paper company or some hurricane that's wiped out its > crops. Nor is it the U.S. trade embargo of which the country constantly > complains. > > "The system itself is dysfunctional," explains Brian Latell, a leading > expert on Cuba at the University of Miami. "Workers have scarcely any > incentive to be productive. The distribution and transportation systems have > broken down." > > Even with slight improvements from the newer Raul Castro administration, > "it's a centrally planned economy and still highly centralized. There's > little private enterprise and initiative." > > The shortages are a natural byproduct of central planning, price-fixing and > a system that disregards human nature. > > Yes, four hurricanes did damage estimated at $10 billion last year, Latell > acknowledges. But Cuba has also been a bad credit risk for nearly 50 years, > he adds, limiting its own access to credit out of loathing for capitalism. > That has cut into the nation's productive capacity, which was once one of > Latin America's highest. > > Now, "they're not producing anything to speak of to earn hard currency, > they're not exporting to earn, and the economy is in a terrible state," > Latell says. > > An economic system that can't supply its people with commodities as basic > as toilet paper is no model for anyone. > > http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=334882669428387 > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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