'Cuba's Next'
Comments
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Hollywood loves Cuba of course
Look at the cool cars at the beach with all the happy people
Fast and furious
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Cuba has a lot of problems. I've seen videos of my family's home town. It's not good.
I don't think anyone is advocating for your tax dollars to go fix those many problems. I think many people, like me, are advocating for an overthrow of a communist government and a government in its place (1) that will not be hostile to the US and (2) that will allow foreign investment. Take care of those two things and I think Cuba would be on the right path to prosperity. Certainly, it would not be accomplished overnight.
Havana is one of the oldest and was once one of the most celebrated cities in the hemisphere. It was without rival THE crown jewel colony of Spain. The country has several natural deep water ports, mineral and agricultural resources up the ass and extensive biodiversity and ecosystems that are unparalleled in the region. One guy I read a lot described the Cuban back country as a series of huge "accidental natural parks" and people want to see that shit. It also has, from what almost anyone who has been there will say, the best collection of white sand beaches anywhere in the Caribbean. They also have, like it or not, a very literate population and a not non-existent health care system. I would not compare it to Somalia or even Haiti, and it's 90 miles from here!
I'm not an expert but I think it's safe to say there is capital here that would love an opportunity to invest early in what's there. But that will never happen until people feel comfortable that assets won't be nationalized again.
Reasonable minds can disagree about this, sure. But unlike one of your Duck compadres, I don't believe that communism, socialism or corruption are in "the genes" of Latin American people.
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Biggest impediment imo is also who gets property rights after a regime overthrow.
The capital in the US is there to transform Cuba in a single generation but it needs willing and savy partners. I think the Cuban diaspora probably has the abilities needed(Hi Tio!) but will Cuba resemble Russia post communism or Poland?
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That's key. It can't devolve into oligarchy. A company I worked for back in the day was exploring resources in greater Russia, and they had vast amounts of what we? sold and produced. No infrastructure but we were willing to foot the bill for that. Ultimately, like competitors who came before us, we declined because we didn't trust what was happening there and what that would portend.
Cuba is so close to us, though. Let's Greenland the place and make it a territory, and then set up a series of competitions with PR to see who gets the goodies. Rigorous competition, baby. It solves pretty much any problem you'll ever encounter.
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PR is another good example of how corruption can ruin potential.
Too many petty little oligarchs is just as much a problem as a few big corrupt ones.
PR should have a tourism industry on par with Hawaii but instead is multiple generations of waisted potential instead.
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One thing about property rights, though, is that you have to be careful about repatriation, and there are still dudes in So Fla who have an idea about that idea. You have two generations of literate socialists on the island and if a bunch of Miami Cubans show up and start demanding shit from 70 years ago and throwing their weight around, guess what you'll foment? I've never done it but I imagine it is delicate surgery to transition from one economic and legal system to another.
I have faith, though, in the Cuban people. There is an entrepreneurial and proud spirit there. With the right incentives and a legitimate rule of law, shit could get going.
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My wife lived in Miami for several years before we were married so she has many Cuban friends who we see to this day. They are the most fun group of people we know so I am a big fan of Cubans. No disagreement with you on your perspective, I am just skeptical of how quickly that country can turn around.
Concerning the beaches/sand, the water and the interior of the country, I have flown over Cuba several times entering Guantanamo and concur that they have to be some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Wish we could enjoy them.
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What they should do is put the current government owned property into a national trust and enter into long-term leases 50-100 years of the real estate like Hawaii or Mexico do or did. Still vulnerable for the connected to steal the trust funds but harder than when Russia "sold" off national property and businesses for pennies on the dollar to Putin's cronies. Vacation home and hotel/entertainment property would bring in billions and provide much better employment than cutting sugar cane.
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Who would work on @creepycoug’s plantation then?
