Friday, September 12, 2008

Do Remittances Benefit the Cuban People More Than They Do Castro?

Babalú reports that Cubans sent $240 million in remittances last year to their countrymen on the island. This, of course, does not take into account the monies sent there by mulas (carriers) or through third-countries in order to avoid paying Castro's 20% "tax" on remittances, not to mention what the exile themselves bring to the island on their visits there. If all sources of assistance were combined the total would exceed $1 billion annually. Since "only" the $240 million is taxed, however, Castro's total haul last year was $48 million (not counting the profits he makes at the usurious company store). Not an inconsiderable sum but less than he gets from long-distance calls to Cuba. Exiles must pay a $1 per minute to call the island when calls to China cost 2 cents per minute. (Fortunately, the Bush administration has not implemented restrictions on calls to the island -- yet).

Let's suppose that if present restrictions on remittances were suspended for the proposed 90-day period that exiles would send the same $240 million to their relatives not over a year but in the course of those three months. That would mean an additional $48 million off the top for Castro. Again this is not chump change, but for the vampire to continue to suck even when his victim is in extremis, will not exactly cast him in the best light (excuse the pun). The MSM might then expect of Castro some of the compassion for his own people that it demands of the United States. Or perhaps not. Castro has enjoyed 50 years of exemptions from decent human conduct from The New York Times and his other media camp followers.

What is certain, however, is that those additional $48 million will have an inconsequential impact on the regime's ability to inflict misery on its people. The Castros and their henchmen have had 50 years to enrich themselves at the expense and the sacrifice of the Cuban people. In addition to stealing everything of value in the country, they have saddled Cubans with $36 billion in foreign debt, much of which was diverted into their own bank accounts. They have managed to become the richest plutocrats in Latin America without the advantage of siphoning revenues from oil production (as in Mexico and Venezuela) or exploiting any other national resource besides the blood and sweat of the Cuban people. They have abandoned sugar production, Cuba's traditional source of wealth, which was only lucrative for them when the Soviet Union was paying them ten times the market price. Castro Inc.'s principal economic activity now is the selling of the Cuban people -- to tourists as "exotics" and to other other countries as indentured servants. In the struggle to give Cubans some measure of control over their own lives, remittances are essential. Without them the Cuban people are literally at Castro's mercy and hence completely without hope.

Although they are still as greedy as robber barons, and will certainly capitalize on any opportunity to exploit the suffering of their countrymen, the money sent as remittances to their victims will not benefit the Castros as much as it will benefit the Cuban people, who have nothing. The $48 million which the regime gleans from remittances is not going to be used to consolidate its position in Cuba because not one cent is spent there. It is part of the family's pecunia, which is kept as far from the island as possible. So, yes, the $48 million will make Castro's clan wealthier but they are already among the world's wealthiest. The other $192 million will allow the Cuban people to "resolver," that is, to survive. This is not an ideal situation, but ideal situations are not possible when you are forced to deal with hostage takers whose contempt for human life is infinite but whose patience is not. It may even be a pact with the devil (the kind of pact that saved the Jews of Rome). But the life of even one Cuban child is worth $48 million.

13 comments:

  1. No me gusta entrar a este blog y ver par de mensaje nada mas en cada post

    Mansuelo ya nadie casi deja mensajes aqui. Que esta pasando contigo

    Haz algo que este blog esta muy frio

    Echale hielo al Kool aid, no lo sirvas caliente que no se lo toman

    Avisame o me mudo

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  2. fantomas:

    I am sure that if I made you the subject of my next post, the comments would be flying fast and furious.

    I have other matters on my mind at present, however, and the last thing I want is another 640-comment thread.

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  3. Finally talked to my cousin yesterday, he says people are starving, the little food to be found is being sold in convertible pesos, what is one to do? if you don't want your people to starve you MUST send money, I sent it with a mula that way they can get all of it, at a price of course.

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  4. I'm not Cuba's problem , It is Cuba that needs your attention

    La Cuba sin batistiano lovers that is

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  5. La Cuba sin Fidel lovers is more like it.

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  6. South Africa has given Fidel it's 2008 Humanitarian Award, can anyone believe this!!! excuse me while I go throw up!

    http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jF8-ImnvoJkgPvPljSXd1etbxrlQ

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  7. fantomas:

    Cuba today is filled with nothing but "batistiano lovers."

    No man has done more to vindicate Batista's memory than Fidel Castro.

    I guess that's how he repaid the man in the jacket for sparing his life.

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  8. ATENCION LATINOS, ATENCION ESPAÑOLES

    NY TIMES ES UN RECONOCIDO PERIODICO LIBERAL , IZQUIERDOSO...favor no hacer caso a esta noticia irrelevante....LOS AMERICANOS NO SON BOBOS



    Después del Ike



    Suben los precios y escasea la comida y el agua. Hay más muertos que los reconocidos por las autoridades y cunde el pánico entre la gente.



    '12 de septiembre



    -En el poblado de Puerto Padre, en Las Tunas, fuentes independientes han reportado el fallecimiento de una mujer que sufrió heridas tras el paso del huracán y murió después de ser hospitalizada.



    -En Holguín: Desabastecimiento de las tiendas en divisas, de las que ha desaparecido el agua embotellada. El gobierno ha subido el precio de los huevos de 0,90 a 1,50 pesos. En el barrio de Zayas han fallecido al menos dos personas en el hospital tras resultar lesionadas; no aparecen en la lista oficial de muertos. Al parecer, este modus operandi se está repitiendo en otras zonas del país. Comisiones del gobierno están pasando por las casas pidiendo calma pues, según dicen, la crisis es para largo. La situación en Banes es de auténtica hambruna.



    -Más de Holguín: el pueblo de Birán está incomunicado; se destruyeron dos puentes que comunican este poblado con Marcané. La fábrica de níquel de Nicaro prácticamente colapsó y se está trasladando mineral hacia la de Moa. En ningún hotel del polo turístico hay electricidad; se utilizan grupos electrógenos. La situación del agua también es crítica. Muchas presas han sufrido daños. Las áreas de playa están completamente devastadas, se han caído muchos árboles. Se dice que se perderá toda la cosecha de café porque no hay personal ni medios para paliar los daños. Se perdieron alrededor de medio millón de huevos de la reserva, así como unos 20.000 litros de leche.



    -Los habitantes de un pueblo de Pinar del Río se liaron a machetazos para alcanzar las 100 tejas de asbesto cemento repartidas desde un camión. (Generación Y)
    -En la Habana Vieja no funcionan los semáforos. Muchos árboles y postes eléctricos están caídos. Hay desolación en las calles. El Vedado tiene decenas de desconexiones eléctricas.


    Publicado por JAY MARTINEZ en 2:55 PM
    Etiquetas: NOTICIAS

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  9. Sorry la noticia era

    Critica The New York Times política de Washington hacia Cuba

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  10. mansuelo ponte pa la cosa deja a batista tranquilo que ya los gusanos se encargaron de el

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  11. Que triste noticias, el pueblo de Cuba esta totalmente desamparado.

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  12. Banes y Biran, las cunas de Batista y de Castro, han desaparecido de la tierra. La patria se purifica.

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  13. My calculation is a bit different.

    Reported remittances:

    $240 Mio * 20% surcharge = $48Mio for regime

    $760 Mio * 0% = $0 for regime

    So far so good.

    Everything purchased in Kuba is bought through Kastro Inc. and subsidiary enterprises. Given a captive market, 50% margin on everything is probably conservative so:

    $760 Mio + $192 Mio = $952 Mio
    at 50% margin = $476Mio.

    $476Mio + $48 Mio = $524 Mio profit for kastro enterprises - per year.

    What do you think Manuel, does $524 mio a year start to look like real money or not? Is that enough to make a difference in the health of the jailers of the Cuban people?

    ReplyDelete