4 ms·

Per capita GDP for Cuba is $6,789 Mexico $9,909 Guatamala $3,666 Honduras $2,495 I'd say Cuba is in the mix GDP-wise. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator

Per capita GDP for Cuba is $6,789 Mexico $9,909 Guatamala $3,666 Honduras $2,495 I'd say Cuba is in the mix GDP-wise. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

wallace_f 10y ago
Considering economic sanctions and political isolation in the region, it actually appears they're not doing too bad actually, eh? With economics and politics, the story is always more complicated than it appears, and science can't save us, so we should be hesitant to form strong opinions. I'm just supporting open-minded thinking, not saying I agree with everything Castro/Cuba (I don't).
thesimpsons1022 10y ago
honest question: is that a good measure? that puts them far ahead of india and similar to china.
ekianjo 10y ago
> Per capita GDP for Cuba is $6,051.22 That does not mean anything if the wealth is not well distributed (which is the case when elites keep the wealth and everyone else is poor).
- seanmcdirmid 10y ago
  It wasn't actually better under Batista, where the former elites (mostly in Florida now) had a greater share of the wealth than the elites today.
- smallnamespace 10y ago
  Actual communism tends to keep wealth fairly uniform. Cuba's Gini coefficient is fairly low, at around 0.38 in 2000 [1], although the data quality might be poor. Most of Latin America is substantially less equal. The US's was around 0.4-0.45 during that time frame [2]. [1] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-reform-inequality-idUSN1033501920080410 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-reform-inequality-idU... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq...
- matt4077 10y ago
  Life expectancy: USA: 78.74 years Cuba: 79.07 years They must have done something right.
  - kgwgk 10y ago
    How Cubans' Health Improved When Their Economy Collapsed Sometimes financial crises can force lifestyle changes for the better. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/how-cubans-health-improved-when-their-economy-collapsed/275080/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/how-cubans...
- kamjam 10y ago
  That's the same for any country, not just Cuba. The wealth distribution of the US or any other western society is not evenly distributed and the pay gap is growing even more rapidly.
dajohnson89 10y ago
Life expectancy for Cuba is slightly higher than that of the US.
- pmarreck 10y ago
  Because there's no way that a Communist dictatorship would ever lie about that.
  - chinhodado 10y ago
    People complaining about low metrics in Cuba (quality of life, income, etc.). When being offered other metrics as counterpoints (like life expectancy) they conveniently dismiss it as being made up by the state. Really Cuba can't win.
  - theparanoid 10y ago
    Cuba scores well on a number of health indicators. Another latin american country, Mexico, also has high life expectancy (77yrs).
    - dajohnson89 10y ago
      iirc, Cuba's health success is due to its socialized health care.
      - mynameisvlad 10y ago
        Yes, which was one of Fidel Castro's policies enacted in the 1976 constitution.
unknown_apostle 10y ago
Ok let's take GDP numbers at face value and let's assume this says much about daily life. Basically, you're stating that 50+ years of Marxist order imposed by the Castro regime has managed to keep up with countries plagued by 50+ years of general chaos in the form of pathologically corrupt regimes, nepotism, inflation, rampant violent crime, civil war, guerilla movements and narcoterrorism. Hmmm... I will contemplate the US embargo argument tonight, as I light up one of my precious Cuban cigars to honor the old commie bastard and to celebrate this great achievement of dialectical materialism. Hasta la victoria siempre!
- unknown_apostle 10y ago
  Why does this get downvoted? People in communist countries trade in some of the classical liberties, to make a higher level of economic planning possible. In one form or another, this is the “trade-off” believed in by most genuine communists. The classical liberties are just a lie anyway, and this trade-off will result in a kind of progress and general wellbeing that would far surpass anything seen in backwards, private capital-oriented economies driven by the profit motive. Castro was not like Pol Pot or the Kim dynasty. The Cuban regime had a shot at enforcing progress for 50+ years. Cuba appears reasonably stable; although the real test of this will come in the post-regime era. It has managed to keep some of its charm, despite truly being a police state. But some people here on HN are suggesting Cuba is not doing so badly (and by extension, the trade-off proposed by communism), because Cuba’s self-stated numbers have kept up with countries that are plagued by bouts of deep, crippling political and social malaise. I think that’s a terrible argument for obvious reasons. Especially in the case of GDP and in light of what most communists believe their system can achieve. The comparison just proves there are many ways you can screw a population. So once again: why does pointing this out have to get downvoted? And for the record, about the embargo: I am staring at Cuban cigars right now. I will light one up tonight to honor Castro, because as far as commie bastards go, he wasn’t the worst.
  - pvg 10y ago
    From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html - "Please resist commenting about being downvoted. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."

wallace_f 10y ago

Considering economic sanctions and political isolation in the region, it actually appears they're not doing too bad actually, eh? With economics and politics, the story is always more complicated than it appears, and science can't save us, so we should be hesitant to form strong opinions. I'm just supporting open-minded thinking, not saying I agree with everything Castro/Cuba (I don't).

thesimpsons1022 10y ago

honest question: is that a good measure? that puts them far ahead of india and similar to china.

ekianjo 10y ago

> Per capita GDP for Cuba is $6,051.22 That does not mean anything if the wealth is not well distributed (which is the case when elites keep the wealth and everyone else is poor).

seanmcdirmid 10y ago
It wasn't actually better under Batista, where the former elites (mostly in Florida now) had a greater share of the wealth than the elites today.
smallnamespace 10y ago
Actual communism tends to keep wealth fairly uniform. Cuba's Gini coefficient is fairly low, at around 0.38 in 2000 [1], although the data quality might be poor. Most of Latin America is substantially less equal. The US's was around 0.4-0.45 during that time frame [2]. [1] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-reform-inequality-idUSN1033501920080410 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-reform-inequality-idU... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_eq...
matt4077 10y ago
Life expectancy: USA: 78.74 years Cuba: 79.07 years They must have done something right.
- kgwgk 10y ago
  How Cubans' Health Improved When Their Economy Collapsed Sometimes financial crises can force lifestyle changes for the better. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/how-cubans-health-improved-when-their-economy-collapsed/275080/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/how-cubans...
kamjam 10y ago
That's the same for any country, not just Cuba. The wealth distribution of the US or any other western society is not evenly distributed and the pay gap is growing even more rapidly.

dajohnson89 10y ago

Life expectancy for Cuba is slightly higher than that of the US.

pmarreck 10y ago
Because there's no way that a Communist dictatorship would ever lie about that.
- chinhodado 10y ago
  People complaining about low metrics in Cuba (quality of life, income, etc.). When being offered other metrics as counterpoints (like life expectancy) they conveniently dismiss it as being made up by the state. Really Cuba can't win.
- theparanoid 10y ago
  Cuba scores well on a number of health indicators. Another latin american country, Mexico, also has high life expectancy (77yrs).
  - dajohnson89 10y ago
    iirc, Cuba's health success is due to its socialized health care.
    - mynameisvlad 10y ago
      Yes, which was one of Fidel Castro's policies enacted in the 1976 constitution.

unknown_apostle 10y ago

Ok let's take GDP numbers at face value and let's assume this says much about daily life. Basically, you're stating that 50+ years of Marxist order imposed by the Castro regime has managed to keep up with countries plagued by 50+ years of general chaos in the form of pathologically corrupt regimes, nepotism, inflation, rampant violent crime, civil war, guerilla movements and narcoterrorism. Hmmm... I will contemplate the US embargo argument tonight, as I light up one of my precious Cuban cigars to honor the old commie bastard and to celebrate this great achievement of dialectical materialism. Hasta la victoria siempre!

unknown_apostle 10y ago
Why does this get downvoted? People in communist countries trade in some of the classical liberties, to make a higher level of economic planning possible. In one form or another, this is the “trade-off” believed in by most genuine communists. The classical liberties are just a lie anyway, and this trade-off will result in a kind of progress and general wellbeing that would far surpass anything seen in backwards, private capital-oriented economies driven by the profit motive. Castro was not like Pol Pot or the Kim dynasty. The Cuban regime had a shot at enforcing progress for 50+ years. Cuba appears reasonably stable; although the real test of this will come in the post-regime era. It has managed to keep some of its charm, despite truly being a police state. But some people here on HN are suggesting Cuba is not doing so badly (and by extension, the trade-off proposed by communism), because Cuba’s self-stated numbers have kept up with countries that are plagued by bouts of deep, crippling political and social malaise. I think that’s a terrible argument for obvious reasons. Especially in the case of GDP and in light of what most communists believe their system can achieve. The comparison just proves there are many ways you can screw a population. So once again: why does pointing this out have to get downvoted? And for the record, about the embargo: I am staring at Cuban cigars right now. I will light one up tonight to honor Castro, because as far as commie bastards go, he wasn’t the worst.
- pvg 10y ago
  From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html - "Please resist commenting about being downvoted. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."