PPP per capita is 5x lower in Cuba than in the US. In other words, salaries are low and people struggle to afford things in Cuba, whereas the average citizen in the US can afford much more.
So they can buy less commodities but generally still manage to live longer lives, are more able to read which means they can pursue intellectual and cultural pursuits, etc?
Sounds like a good trade, I bet it would be an even better trade without the blockade.
I’m not saying life on balance is necessarily worse or better. Just pointing out that cherry-picking statistics can sketch a wrong image.
“Less commodities” sounds a bit dismissive of the difference though. It is significantly less, e.g. the average salary is less than 190 USD per month. Most Cubans struggle to get enough food to get by, and whilst there are measures to avoid starvation, they’re not exactly having much to eat either. They’re not using their time for intellectual/cultural pursuits, most use their time to find additional sources of income.
Healthcare is free, but the equipment is old. Outcomes are poorer, due to lack of drugs. Cuba has an excellent HIV-program, with mandatory testing and cheap antivirals. Yet, HIV cases (and STIs in general) are on the rise due to a high prevalence of prostitution, caused by the low salaries and high wealth inequality.
Upsides and downsides. Reality is that several hundreds of thousands of Cubans attempt to flee the country every year. Between 2021 and 2023, nearly 500k people tried to do so, ~5% of the population. That’s not very indicative of a place-to-be.
It may well be true that the US embargo is causing a lot of these issues. However, economists tend to argue that the lack of Soviet subsidies has a much larger negative effect.
I’m not so sure it’s a good trade. There are things we can learn, certainly. But on balance, it doesn’t seem better.
PPP per capita is 5x lower in Cuba than in the US. In other words, salaries are low and people struggle to afford things in Cuba, whereas the average citizen in the US can afford much more.
So they can buy less commodities but generally still manage to live longer lives, are more able to read which means they can pursue intellectual and cultural pursuits, etc?
Sounds like a good trade, I bet it would be an even better trade without the blockade.
I’m not saying life on balance is necessarily worse or better. Just pointing out that cherry-picking statistics can sketch a wrong image.
“Less commodities” sounds a bit dismissive of the difference though. It is significantly less, e.g. the average salary is less than 190 USD per month. Most Cubans struggle to get enough food to get by, and whilst there are measures to avoid starvation, they’re not exactly having much to eat either. They’re not using their time for intellectual/cultural pursuits, most use their time to find additional sources of income.
Healthcare is free, but the equipment is old. Outcomes are poorer, due to lack of drugs. Cuba has an excellent HIV-program, with mandatory testing and cheap antivirals. Yet, HIV cases (and STIs in general) are on the rise due to a high prevalence of prostitution, caused by the low salaries and high wealth inequality.
Upsides and downsides. Reality is that several hundreds of thousands of Cubans attempt to flee the country every year. Between 2021 and 2023, nearly 500k people tried to do so, ~5% of the population. That’s not very indicative of a place-to-be.
It may well be true that the US embargo is causing a lot of these issues. However, economists tend to argue that the lack of Soviet subsidies has a much larger negative effect.
I’m not so sure it’s a good trade. There are things we can learn, certainly. But on balance, it doesn’t seem better.
You forgot to factor in the cost of housing, healthcare, and education that people in Cuba don’t have to worry about.
Sure, but other items cost much more compared to their salaries. It’s a definite downside.