Quote:
Originally Posted by Elbmek
IThe email from Cuba (Bodie) says it all really; its not THAT bad and certainly not as bad as quite a few "western" nations.
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Let's stack it up against World Health Organization stats.
Cuba
Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2004): 229
Children under five years of age stunted for age (%): 9.6 (2000)
Population with sustainable access to improved drinking water sources (%) urban: 95 (2004)
Population with sustainable access to improved drinking water sources (%) rural: 78 (2004)
Population with sustainable access to improved sanitation (%) urban: 99 (2004)
Population with sustainable access to improved sanitation (%) rural: 95 (2004)
A whopping $229/person per year. As a comparison, the US spends $6,096/person per year, and the UK spends $2,560.
Where do you want to go for your medical care? I doubt that there will be a market for medical tourism in Cuba.
How about that 10% figure of stunted kids? Not as bad as some Western nations? Don't think so.
Mark hit the nail on the head - there may be equality, but it's at the lowest common denominator.
If you want humanity, I'm sure plenty of US posters can talk about the humanity in their towns. I know I can. I can talk about the humanity I saw in Italy during the time I lived there.
If you ask me why Cubans didn't focus on working too hard, the answer is easy. Why? You'll earn the same, so what is the incentive? That's not humanity in my book, but the lack of it provided by the regime.