http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_fidel_castro
Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model does not work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspiciuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.
The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.
Jeffery Goldberg, a national correspondent for the Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: "The Cuban model does not work for us anymore" Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.
He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg's account.
Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother's toes.
Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Catro's invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran's nuclear program, also reported Tuesday that Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missil Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.
The state controls well over 90% of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen's food needs are sold to them through rationed books at heavily subsidized prices.
President Raul Castro and others have instituted a series of limited economic reforms, and have warned Cubans that they need to start working harder and expecting less from the government. But the president has also made it clear he has no desire to depart from Cuba's socialist system or embrace capitalism.
Fidel Castro stepped down temporarily in July 2006 due to a series illness that nearly killed him.
He resigned premanently two years later, but remains head of the Communist Party. After staying almost entirely out of the spotlight for four years, he re-emerged in July and now speaks frequently about international affairs. He has been warning for weeks about the threat of a nuclear war over Iran.
Castro's interview with Goldberg is the only one he has given to an American journalist since he left office.
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Well its nice to have seen the Cuban leader live long enough to see that his entire life's work has been in vain. Nevertheless, he remains a socialist and so will the socialists who read this. The good news is that he is turning to international affairs. I mean, after wrecking his domestic affairs in Cuba perhaps he can help other nations turn to socialism.
Originally posted by whodeyAre you trying to say a communist economic model does not work?! IMPLYING capitalism is better?!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_fidel_castro
Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model does not work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspiciuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.
The fact that things are not working efficie ...[text shortened]... . Nevertheless, he remains a socialist and so will the socialists who read this.
I gotta get this thread removed!!!!😵
Originally posted by utherpendragonThe bourgeoisie has taken over my mind!! Somebody help me!!
Are you trying to say a communist economic model does not work?! IMPLYING capitalism is better?!
I gotta get this thread removed!!!!😵
Now where exactly did my social justice and collective salvation go? :'(
Originally posted by whodeyIf you had read any of my posts on this topic you would have known that I support a mixed-economy system with free trade, a simple tax code with few deductions, subsidies only where they are really necessary and no international trade barriers, and government providing and/or funding certain essential collective goods such as an army, a legal system, police, infrastructure, education and health care.
I don't recall asking anyone, but you are free to PM him and ask.
As for yourself, why do you oppose the Castro system?
Originally posted by KazetNagorraWhat about never ending stimulus packages, a complex tax system, and "free trade" that is heavily regulated like the US model as well as certain corporate takeovers by the government?
If you had read any of my posts on this topic you would have known that I support a mixed-economy system with free trade, a simple tax code with few deductions, subsidies only where they are really necessary and no international trade barriers, and government providing and/or funding certain essential collective goods such as an army, a legal system, police, infrastructure, education and health care.
Don't tell me the US government is farther left than KazetNagorral!! 😲
Originally posted by whodeyI certainly oppose things like mortgage deductions and argicultural subsidies. But I'd also tax the rich much more heavily than in the current U.S. situation.
What about never ending stimulus packages, a complex tax system, and "free trade" that is heavily regulated like the US model as well as certain corporate takeovers by the government?
Don't tell me the US government is farther left than KazetNagorral!! 😲
Originally posted by KazetNagorraSo you don't mind the government bailing out corporations and taking some over and never ending stimulus packages?
I certainly oppose things like mortgage deductions and argicultural subsidies. But I'd also tax the rich much more heavily than in the current U.S. situation.
As for a tax code that is simple, we both agree it is needed.
Originally posted by whodeyA company that is too big to fail should not be private. The government should either have those essential services nationalized, or ensure there are regulations in place to make sure companies don't become so big as to be too big to fail. Having said that, the rescue packages were probably necessary to some degree to ensure economic stability in the short term.
So you don't mind the government bailing out corporations and taking some over and never ending stimulus packages?
As for a tax code that is simple, we both agree it is needed.
Originally posted by KazetNagorraBut the new financial reform Obama passed this last summer did not put an end to the "too big to fail" dilemma. It will happen again. The tax payer may not own these coporations in name, but they will be obligated to bail them out if needed.
A company that is too big to fail should not be private. The government should either have those essential services nationalized, or ensure there are regulations in place to make sure companies don't become so big as to be too big to fail. Having said that, the rescue packages were probably necessary to some degree to ensure economic stability in the short term.
Originally posted by whodeyhas the Tea Party put forth any proposals that will seriously address the "Too Big to Fail" dilemma?
But the new financial reform Obama passed this last summer did not put an end to the "too big to fail" dilemma. It will happen again. The tax payer may not own these coporations in name, but they will be obligated to bail them out if needed.