Gleaming Example of Socialism for Everyone

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Gleaming Example of Socialism for Everyone
So, You wanna take a trip to Cuba!!!

Those of you who have been talking of going to Cuba may find this
interesting.

A 77 yr old guy goes to Europe, Canada, Mexico and now Cuba for
bicycle road trips. I thought you might enjoy reading this
gentleman’s report of his bicycle trip to Cuba:

On February 1st I flew to Atlanta, met some friends and we flew to
Cancun, Mexico. We spent 4 days there, mostly touring the Mayan
ruins of Tulum and Chichen Itza and getting ready for the next part
of the adventure.

Seven more people flew in and we all boarded a Mexican airline,
Interjet, and flew to Havana for a week of bicycle riding in Cuba.

Cuba, where nothing works, including the people. Unemployment is
48% and of those who do work, 8 out of every 10 work for the
government. Before heading to the western part of the island, we
spent a night in Havana at the Riviera Classic, the finest hotel at
the time. 20 stories with 3 elevators, but only one worked.
Contrary to what I found in the rest of the country, my shower only
had hot water. Turn the knobs all you want, but you only got hot,
scalding water.

The stories about the old cars is quite true, but many of those
cars are used to take tourists on tours of the city. $30.00 gets
you 2 hours in 1952 Cadillac convertible and you can pile in as
many people in as you want. Old Chevys seem to be the most popular
and a few are quite nicely restored. They all fell in the 1941 to
1957 range. I saw nothing newer than a 57. By restored, I mean
they look good on the outside, but as our Cuban tour guide said,
there would not be a V8 under the hood. The original had failed
decades ago and with no parts to fix it, other means had to be
found. Generally that involved putting a 4 cylinder Russian made
diesel in and making the necessary changes to get it to fit and
mate up with an unknown transmission.

Outside Havana, the country is still in the 19th century. Many
people walk, but equally as many use horses, both to ride and pull
carts. I saw wagons pulled by oxen on the highway. We traveled by
motor coach, stayed in crude motels, and ate in restaurants; all
owned by the government. Staying clean was a challenge. In the
public restrooms washing your hands was interesting. You need
three things to wash your hands; water, soap, towel to dry. Well
the towel was your shirt or pants, because there never was any
towels. In 1/3 of the toilets there was no water and in one case,
there was a lady standing beside the sink with a bottle of water to
pour over your hands. In an equal number of places, there was no
soap.

If you thought not having soap and water in the rest room was a
problem, imagine not having a toilet seat. Yep, no toilet seat and
it wasn’t just confined to public facilities. One of the rooms we
stayed in had no toilet seat, which was matched by the fact there
was not toilet paper. In its place, somebody had carefully torn
individual sheets of toilet paper from a roll and placed them on
the back of the toilet.

Free health care and education is one of the things Castro brought
with his revolution. The health care is generally limited to the
bigger cities. Our guide told us that a taxi driver in Havana
earned more in tips each day than a medical doctor earned in salary
in one month. Oh, and the doctor can be arrested and jailed if he
attempts to treat people on the side for extra money. Education is
free, but the reality is that most people cannot afford to stay in
school. Our tour guide was the exception. He completed college
and got a Master’s degree in computer technology, but can’t find a
job in that field, so he conducts tours.

We visited a tobacco farm, where we had the opportunity to purchase
genuine Cuba cigars for $3.25. The farm had been in this man’s
family for 3 generations, but only recently had actual title been
put back in his name. The government claimed it after the
revolution. After harvest, the government takes 90% of the
tobacco, leaving the farmer with just 10% for his “own personal
use”. He chose to demonstrate how to hand roll a cigar, then sell
it to tourists. I asked our guide if all farmers lost 90% of their
crop to the government. His reply, “Oh no, vegetable farmers only
give up 60% of their crop”.

The roads looked like they had been carpet bombed with huge pot
holes everywhere. Add that to the very steep hills we encountered
and it made for slow biking. While I am no speed demon, one day I
averaged just 4.5 mph as I attempted to find bits of pavement
between the holes in the road. In many cases, there was no road,
just dirt and when the trucks went past, we were engulfed in a
storm of dust and exhaust fumes. A few of the trucks were left
over Russian military vehicles. Personal transportation in the
rural area was provided by stake bodied trucks. People would stand
by the side of the road and climb aboard when such a truck came
by. The fare was around 8 cents and you stood packed in the bed of
the truck with several dozen other people.

Those on welfare receive $25 a month, plus a ration of beans, rice,
and cooking oil. The money came from the Cuban government, but the
Russians provided the food. Each month a supply cargo ship docks
with beans, rice, and cooking oil sent by the Russians. Speaking
of them, the Cuban version of the Missile Crisis is quite different
from what we heard in the US.

Glad I went, but have no desire to return. Cuba makes our inner
cities look like paradise and the poverty is staggering. After two
weeks abroad, we flew home and I spent the night in a Hampton Inn
at the Atlanta airport, before catching an early morning flight
back to Seattle. Took the longest hot water shower ever after
having a cheeseburger, fries and two gin tonics for dinner. I was
really glad to be back.

Dedicated to all Bernie Sanders supporters and other Democrats
that believe “Government Socialism” is so much better than our
country that was built on “Capitalism.”

"Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God."
[Prov. 30:7-9, Bible, NKJV]

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