Question About Cuba

[non-vio-resist]

does anyone consider themselves proficient on the issue of the cuban economy or just life in the country, etc? corporate controlled western media makes cuba sound like hitler's germany as any american knows. i had one question in particular: how is income distributed? does everyone make the same wage, i.e., doctors, sanitation workers, and everyone in between? actually, a revleft forum sparked the interest in this. on the issue of mobile phones being allowed under the new leadership of raul, a revleft user stated that only "wealthy" cubans had access to such things. this was confusing to me as this is a per se socialist society. i'm not naiive enough to assume that there are not corrupt sycophants within the government who extort money; power corrupts. i was just curious who this revleft user was referring to as wealthy: commie party members? most importantly, though, if anyone could answer the question of how income is distributed i would greatly appreciate it.

cheers.

[AGITprop]

I don't claim to be any expert on Cuba, but from what I understand, Communist Party members are much better off than workers. The workers are paid, I believe, around 20 pesos a month? I don't know if everyone is actually paid an equal wage though.

Again, the high ranking officials benefit from the work of the proletariat, hence their label as a parasitic state.

I hope this answerers some of your question, I know it wasn't very in detail but some of my comrades are much more proficient on the question of Cuba.

[BuyOurEverything]

There are different wages in Cuba, but there's a minimum wage and a maximum wage that aren't too far apart. The real difference comes from the fact that the government started allowing Cubans to hold American dollars (technically, they're not dollars anymore, but pesos convertibles, which are tied to the dollar) in the mid-90s due to a massive need for foreign hard Currency after the Soviet Union collapsed. There are certain things in Cuba, generally imports, that you can only buy with these pesos convertibles, so those who have access to them are better off. Certain industries, such as tourism, generate foreign currency, so people involved in those industries tend to be better off. Also, people who receive remittances from abroad. I imagine party beaurocrats also get their hands on them somehow.

[Red Rebel]

I'm not sure actualy amounts but the richest Cuban makes only 50% more than the poorest. Compare that to the wealthiest and poorest person in the USA.