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> You mean the one under the Batista regime? "one can look at history and wonder if the Cuban people would've been better off living in an American territory s

> You mean the one under the Batista regime? "one can look at history and wonder if the Cuban people would've been better off living in an American territory similar to Puerto Rico instead of [under Castro's rule]." You might not agree it would be better for certain, but you definitely can at least imagine an American Cuba that's healthier than the current Cuba. It's not a particularly high bar.

rayval 16y ago
Actually, Cuba has the highest life expectancy in its region, and is basically equivalent to that of the US. In terms of social health (person to person), one can say that Cubans enjoy a better situation. "Political health" is a debatable rathole, on the other hand. The US has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world, and the largest prison population. (One in 31 adults in the US are under the supervision of the criminal justice system).
blasdel 16y ago
"Healthier" is one of the only words that I would never use to describe an American Cuba — their Soviet subsidy led to them educating a ridiculous percentage of their population as doctors, so many that most work in other fields. Even now they still have twice as many working doctors per capita as the US, and are third in the world behind San Marino and Monaco: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=doctors+per+capita+all+countries http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=doctors+per+capita+all+... — I can't find good historical data, but I'm pretty sure it was even higher back in the 70s. Their mortality rates are the same as the US, and the food they eat is a lot healthier out of necessity due to low industrialization.
- gaius 16y ago
  And yet, a bartender or cab driver makes more in tips from Western tourists in a day than a doctor does in salary in a month.
  - blasdel 16y ago
    Which is why the AMA in the US uses collective action to strictly limit the number of new medical degrees and licenses. They also do a lot of lobbying to ensure that their job territory is not encroached upon by nurses, EMTs, or other potentially capable non-doctors. If getting a medical degrees leaves you with no debt, and practicing as a doctor saddles you with little liability, why would you be able to demand a high salary?
    - gaius 16y ago
      Surgery is one of Cuba's main regional exports - IIRC they have a deal with Venezuela where they trade eye operations for oil.

rayval 16y ago

Actually, Cuba has the highest life expectancy in its region, and is basically equivalent to that of the US. In terms of social health (person to person), one can say that Cubans enjoy a better situation. "Political health" is a debatable rathole, on the other hand. The US has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world, and the largest prison population. (One in 31 adults in the US are under the supervision of the criminal justice system).

blasdel 16y ago

"Healthier" is one of the only words that I would never use to describe an American Cuba — their Soviet subsidy led to them educating a ridiculous percentage of their population as doctors, so many that most work in other fields. Even now they still have twice as many working doctors per capita as the US, and are third in the world behind San Marino and Monaco: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=doctors+per+capita+all+countries http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=doctors+per+capita+all+... — I can't find good historical data, but I'm pretty sure it was even higher back in the 70s. Their mortality rates are the same as the US, and the food they eat is a lot healthier out of necessity due to low industrialization.

gaius 16y ago
And yet, a bartender or cab driver makes more in tips from Western tourists in a day than a doctor does in salary in a month.
- blasdel 16y ago
  Which is why the AMA in the US uses collective action to strictly limit the number of new medical degrees and licenses. They also do a lot of lobbying to ensure that their job territory is not encroached upon by nurses, EMTs, or other potentially capable non-doctors. If getting a medical degrees leaves you with no debt, and practicing as a doctor saddles you with little liability, why would you be able to demand a high salary?
  - gaius 16y ago
    Surgery is one of Cuba's main regional exports - IIRC they have a deal with Venezuela where they trade eye operations for oil.