President Barack Obama now owns the crippling Cuba embargo, because he hasn't stopped it

[Jimmy2]

As predictable as the sun rising every day, the United Nations General Assembly last Wednesday overwhelmingly condemned, for the 18th year in a row, the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

During his presidency - to nobody's surprise - George W. Bush arrogantly ignored the UN resolution. This year many believed it would be different. After all, President Obama had promised a "new partnership" with Latin America and a "recasting" of relations with Cuba.

Expectations were high that Washington would leave behind the politically failed and morally bankrupt embargo.

But his promises notwithstanding, in September the new President signed on to the continuation of nine previous Presidents' anachronistic policy by extending the blockade (as Cubans call the embargo) for another year.

"It is now the Obama administration supporting and enforcing the embargo - still following Bush era rules that thwart U.S. agriculture sales; still levying stiff penalties for violations of the regulations; still stopping prominent Cubans from visiting the U.S.; still refusing to use its executive authority to allow American artists, the faith community, academics, and other proponents of engagement and exchange to visit Cuba as representatives of our country and its ideals," lamented Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas.

Stephens asked if the blockade has now become "Obama's embargo."

The impact of the U.S. policy on the lives of average Cubans is even worse. Time and time again the embargo becomes a matter of life or death because it prohibits exporting medical equipment to Cuba with grave consequences for the health of the population. So irrational is this policy that it even prevents Cuba from purchasing antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV-AIDS from U.S. The embargo's effect doesn't stop at the border but actually persecutes and financially punishes companies all over the world that do business with the island nation.

"Since the election of President Obama, there has not been any change in the implementation of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba. The blockade remains intact," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla told the UN.

The embargo was imposed by President Kennedy in 1962, supposedly to isolate Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. But at Wednesday's UN session it was the isolation of the U.S. that was evident: 187 countries voted in favor of ending the 47-year embargo. Only Israel and Palau voted with Washington against lifting the economic sanctions.

Obama has taken some positive steps to improve relations with Cuba. He has made family travel to the island easier and has supported the Organization of American States initiative to welcome Cuba back into its fold. He has also opened negotiations with Havana about migration and direct mail service.

Yet, as Rodríguez Parrilla also told the UN, "The truth is that we have not even gone back to the situation that had prevailed up until the early days of 2004, when the U.S. allowed a certain level of academic, cultural, scientific and sport exchanges with Cuban counterparts."

It's difficult to imagine Obama - who has vowed to implement a policy of mutual respect for Cuba, Latin America and the world - really wanting to adopt as his own an inherited Cold War policy that has brought the U.S. unanimous repudiation.

But it is more difficult to understand what he is waiting for to finally bring U.S.-Cuba relations into the 21st century.

[thechenman]

It's called the Obama Administration not wanting to lose the support of middle of the road conservatives or right wing Democrats over the issue of an embargo on Cuba.

[dicko]

It's called the Obama Administration not wanting to lose the support of middle of the road conservatives or right wing Democrats over the issue of an embargo on Cuba.

pollies love playing it safe, especially a president in his first term. Keep the moderate/swing voters onside.. get voted back for a second term and maybe Obama will start playing some cards.

[MontrealRon]

At the conclusion of the Spanish-American war in 1898, Cuba went directly from being a Spanish colony, to being effectively an American one.

Until the revolution, Cuba was never truly an independant country.

The US maintained total control over the political system, installing and deposing "presidents",

writing and revising the constitution and the laws at will.

The economy was also completely under US dominance.

There was a small class of wealthy Cuban landowners, and some industry remained in local hands,

much as under any colonial situation.

The middle class was small and marginal.

The vast majority of Cubans, however, suffered extreme poverty, and lived in ignorance.

My mother visited Cuba in 1949. She still vividly remembers the destitution and misery in Havana.

If anyone thinks that Havana is poor and desperate now, try making a valid comparison.

Take a walking tour of Port Au Prince, Kingston, or Santo Domingo.

If you somehow come out alive, you will have an idea of what real poverty is,

and will be better prepared for a rational discussion on the relative merits of capitalism and socialism.

Two factors have spared Cuba from suffering a fate similar to that of its neigbours.

One was the revolution, which removed political control from foreigners and nationalised their economic interests, as well as those of their local collaborators.

The other was the US embargo, which, paradoxially, maintained the distance between Cuba and their dominant neighbour to the north. This distance has given Cubans the space to develop their own alternatives to corporate capitalism.

Yes, many mistakes were made, and sometimes it looked like one step forward, two steps back.

Let us not forget that in Cuba, the pie to be shared is rather small.

After all, they cannot create a well-to-do middle class and a well paid working class as certain other countries have done - by exploiting foreign countries for cheap raw materials and labour.

Cubans must make do with what they have, and what they can produce.

The Cubans have been continually refining and re-inventing their system to deal with changing and challenging times.

Much more needs to be done, especially in terms of popular involvement in decision making.

Less top-down decrees, and more power to the base.

Surely, as time goes on and Fidel slowly fades off into the distance, such changes can begin to be implemented.

But Cubans must be vigilant not to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

At all costs, they must avoid the social upheavals experienced in the former USSR.

And most of all, they do not need MacDonalds, WalMart,

and the re-creation of an exploited under-class.

The longer the embargo lasts, the more time Cubans will have to work out their problems by themselves, before the floodgates are opened.

They have the education, the intelligence, and the desire.

What they create may well be an inspiration to to a world badly in need of new directions.

[Erm310mce]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I am writing with all due respect to everyone's opinions. Political conversations can become heated and it's not my intent. I'm also the first to complain about any white house admin since I'm a registered independant.

But just a thought, Can someone tell me what Cuba is doing in return to help with negotiations? Is anyone convinced the Castros want the embargo lifted? This embargo is a huge political negotiation and to just say it's Obama's fault is not completely fair in my opinion, I think both sides need concession to get this done, otherwise I don't believe Obama is the only person keeping the embargo from being lifted.

I would also agree that a first term president who lifts the embargo will probably lose support and would lose florida in the second term elections, which is a very key state in the election process.

Just my 2 cents

[MontrealRon]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I am writing with all due respect to everyone's opinions. Political conversations can become heated and it's not my intent. I'm also the first to complain about any white house admin since I'm a registered independant.

But just a thought, Can someone tell me what Cuba is doing in return to help with negotiations? Is anyone convinced the Castros want the embargo lifted? This embargo is a huge political negotiation and to just say it's Obama's fault is not completely fair in my opinion, I think both sides need concession to get this done, otherwise I don't believe Obama is the only person keeping the embargo from being lifted.

I would also agree that a first term president who lifts the embargo will probably lose support and would lose florida in the second term elections, which is a very key state in the election process.

Just my 2 cents

I do not believe for a minute that the Castros want the embargo, or "boycott" to be lifted.

It has been a great unifying force, as well as a most convenient scapegoat.

The Cuban people themselves have rather mixed feelings.

Obama is, of course, totally at the mercy of the political winds.

[Shelby07]

It's also pretty interesting that a large number of Americans and most of the rest of the world seem to blame America for all the woes of the world. I have felt for a long time that the Castros don't want the embargo lifted. It gives them something to blame the woes of their nation on. But the feeling that we as Americans own the problem of the Cuban people and it's our "fault" for their suffering just astounds me.

It seems that we are pretty much bankrupt in this country, yet our own people as well as the world population feel that we are obligated to borrow money from China to fix the problems in the rest of the world. Got a problem? Blame the US and they'll send you money. Funny thing is, the problems rarely seem to go away.

[IShotAManInReno]

I would also agree that a first term president who lifts the embargo will probably lose support and would lose florida in the second term elections, which is a very key state in the election process.

I'm not so sure that is as true as it once was. It seems even Cuban Americans at least support a lifting of the travel ban.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8...00.html?cnn=yes

Great article.

[MontrealRon]

It's also pretty interesting that as Americans we tend to blame our country for all the woes of the world. I have felt for a longtime that the Castros don't want the embargo lifted. It gives them something to blame the woes of their nation on. But the feeling that we as Americans own the problem of the Cuban people and it's our "fault" for their suffering just astounds me.

It seems that we are pretty much bankrupt in this country, yet our own people as well as the world population feels that we are obligated to borrow money from China to fix the problems in the rest of the world. Got a problem? Blame the US and they'll send you money. Funny thing is, the problems rarely seem to go away.

While it is clear that the US is not responsable for Cuba's problems post '59,

the period before is another story, as I have detailed above.

As for the US being bankrupt, that is of course true, if you mean the government.

The top few percent of the population, though, is wealthier than ever.

Recessions and depressions only hurt those who actually work (or worked!).

Small investors are also hurt, as the big fish eat the little ones.

It is the small group of super-rich who squeeze everyone else.

They have no loyalty or patriotism. Only money and power mean anything to them.

There will be no peace or security anywhere until we are out from under their thumb.

(Please don't think I am dissing Americans here.

These super-rich nasties are scattered throughout the world.)

[Erm310mce]

I'm not so sure that is as true as it once was. It seems even Cuban Americans at least support a lifting of the travel ban.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8...00.html?cnn=yes

Great article.

Thanks, that is a great article and I stand corrected. It seems the new generation of Cuban Americans born in America are supporting the lift, while the older generation who were born in Cuba for the most part still support the embargo, seems like those numbers will change more as each year goes by to favor the opinion of the younger generation. I remember reading something like 84% of Cuban Americans over the age of 65 voted for McCain instead of Obama.

[Shelby07]

As for the US being bankrupt, that is of course true, if you mean the government.

No, I mean the US. Your statement implies that the government can be bankrupt yet the people can be solvent. It makes no sense to me. The government doesn't make a dime on its own. It gets it's funds from taxing and borrowing, and the government is not afraid to tax or borrow. When the government can get no more money from the people without totally destroying the economy for generations it indicates that the people just don't have any more for the government to take. Therefore, if the government is bankrupt, then the people are bankrupt.

[Ken Gargett]

I have felt for a long time that the Castros don't want the embargo lifted. It gives them something to blame the woes of their nation on. But the feeling that we as Americans own the problem of the Cuban people and it's our "fault" for their suffering just astounds me.

my impression is very much that the majority of cubans want the embargo lifted, though they are very apprehensive of what might come when it is. some think they'll all be automatically wealthy, others fear the bad old batista style days, some just think they'll be overwhelmed and others think no change.

it certainly suits the current regime, though.

as for fault, what no american president seems to have understood, or has chosen to overlook for whatever reason, is that the way that they would have beaten castro was simply to lift the embargo. havana would look like a little america.

there has been a hell of a lot of hurt imposed on the cuban people thanks to the embargo (and who knows if they would have had better or worse lives if it never existed) but who the hell else do you blame. america imposed it and maintains it (it may suit the cuban govt but it hurts the people, not the govt). of course that is their fault. why is that so astounding?

[anacostiakat]

my impression is very much that the majority of cubans want the embargo lifted, though they are very apprehensive of what might come when it is. some think they'll all be automatically wealthy, others fear the bad old batista style days, some just think they'll be overwhelmed and others think no change.

it certainly suits the current regime, though.

as for fault, what no american president seems to have understood, or has chosen to overlook for whatever reason, is that the way that they would have beaten castro was simply to lift the embargo. havana would look like a little america.

there has been a hell of a lot of hurt imposed on the cuban people thanks to the embargo (and who knows if they would have had better or worse lives if it never existed) but who the hell else do you blame. america imposed it and maintains it (it may suit the cuban govt but it hurts the people, not the govt). of course that is their fault. why is that so astounding?

Ken has stumbled onto the truth again! Just take a look at China. . .

[MontrealRon]

No, I mean the US. Your statement implies that the government can be bankrupt yet the people can be solvent. It makes no sense to me. The government doesn't make a dime on its own. It gets it's funds from taxing and borrowing, and the government is not afraid to tax or borrow. When the government can get no more money from the people without totally destroying the economy for generations it indicates that the people just don't have any more for the government to take. Therefore, if the government is bankrupt, then the people are bankrupt.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that years of cutting taxes for the rich has taken its toll.

Perhaps if the obscene profits of the banking system and weathiest corporations were adequately taxed, if the billionaires paid a fair share, and if the gov't cut the subsidies to industrial agriculture, things might turn around.

Part of the reason that the people are bankrupt is that they are spending a fortune for the privilege of being ripped off (i.e. unfair taxation).

Unfortunately, the gov't (through the Federal Reserve) will, as it always has, take the easy way out, and pass off the problem to the future by creating trillions of dollars out of nothing.

Inflation is the inevitable result.

It is not by coincidence that gold is almost $1100/oz.

[Colt45]

I always get a bit of a kick when I read people assume that without the embargo, Cuba would be a "Little America", as if the Cubans would have no

say in the matter. Equally, if not more amusing (though perhaps the two go hand in hand) is the notion that Americans will rush to Cuba once

restrictions are lifted. Aside from those with family or friends, or cigar smokers (what percentage of tourists would smokers be), why would anyone

choose Cuba over any other Caribbean island - perhaps novelty?

But seriously, were it not for cigars and the aforementioned family tie ins, how many here would even give Cuba a second thought?

[jamie140]

Owe-bama is WAY too busy destroying the US economy and dis-mantling the constitution to be concerned with Cuba.

[reigndrop]

call me selfish but i like the embargo as it is. would you guys mind paying double for what you now pay for cigars? and going to cuba with everything completely washed up but american tourists?

[Ken Gargett]

I always get a bit of a kick when I read people assume that without the embargo, Cuba would be a "Little America", as if the Cubans would have no

say in the matter. Equally, if not more amusing (though perhaps the two go hand in hand) is the notion that Americans will rush to Cuba once

restrictions are lifted. Aside from those with family or friends, or cigar smokers (what percentage of tourists would smokers be), why would anyone

choose Cuba over any other Caribbean island - perhaps novelty?

But seriously, were it not for cigars and the aforementioned family tie ins, how many here would even give Cuba a second thought?

colt, i mean a little america in that there would be a much greater american influence in the culture, much as has happened in so many other countries around the world (an observation, not a criticism). simply, america brings money or is perceived to, and hence there will always be locals of any country keen to get involved. you think that mcdonalds opened on red square because the place needed a face lift?

as for tourists, until a few years ago, there were far more american tourists - around a million a year - than from any other nation. not sure of the figures now (the american figures dropped post bush's 'axis of evil' speech) but america would still be right up there. and that is when it is illegal. i have heard so many americans say that they want to go but can't/won't. i think that there'll be a huge boost in numbers, at least for the first five years. and when the place has been stuffed up with cruise ships (not that there are not already) and rubberneckers and so on, it will settle.

[Ken Gargett]

call me selfish but i like the embargo as it is. would you guys mind paying double for what you now pay for cigars? and going to cuba with everything completely washed up but american tourists?

understandable but there are 11 million cubans who may feel that thedegradation of their liberty and lifestyle is a reasonably high price to pay for yourself and others to enjoy cheap cigars.

[Wil]

havana would look like a little america.

[Shelby07]

my impression is very much that the majority of cubans want the embargo lifted, though they are very apprehensive of what might come when it is. some think they'll all be automatically wealthy, others fear the bad old batista style days, some just think they'll be overwhelmed and others think no change.

it certainly suits the current regime, though.

as for fault, what no american president seems to have understood, or has chosen to overlook for whatever reason, is that the way that they would have beaten castro was simply to lift the embargo. havana would look like a little america.

there has been a hell of a lot of hurt imposed on the cuban people thanks to the embargo (and who knows if they would have had better or worse lives if it never existed) but who the hell else do you blame. america imposed it and maintains it (it may suit the cuban govt but it hurts the people, not the govt). of course that is their fault. why is that so astounding?

According to your statements, all the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people is because of the embargo, and it's the fault of the US that the embargo hasn't been lifted, therefore it just naturally follows that the US is to blame for the suffering of the Cuban people. That's obviously a fairly simplistic and narrow view.

The undeniable truth is that the government who is responsible for the Cuban people is the Cuban government... i.e. the Castros. Not the American President or the American Congress, or even the American people, but the Castros. First Fidel and now Raoul.

I don't accept the premise that the embargo is responsible for all of the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people, and that is probably where you and I could talk long enough to burn through a box of DC's and still not agree. After all, it's a trade embargo, not a blockade. Cuba has had relationships with Russia ever since they pointed nuclear missiles towards the US, as well as several of the very rich oil producing countries in the world. In addition, Cuba has discovered some pretty big oil reserves off its coast. The only people holding the Cuban people down are the Castros. I think if Obama lifted the embargo tomorrow there would be very little impact on the Cuban people other than they'd have a few more tourists. But the tourist industry is alive and well in Cuba today. How's it working for the people when any foreign currency has to be converted by the government into worthless Cuban convertible Pesos before the Cuban people get it? Who gets the benefit of foreign currency coming into the country, the Cuban people or the Cuban government.

Who else do I blame?? How about Fidel and Raoul Castro. They have complete control. They can overcome 100 embargoes by simply allowing the Cuban people to travel and work outside the country. The Castros have the ability to show the Cuban people and the world that the embargo is virtually meaningless. He can give the Cuban people some basic freedoms instead of believing that he owns their life. They would be able to work in Europe, South America, Asia or even probably the US. They would be able to help themselves and their families, US embargo or not. So how about laying the blame on the person who has 100% control over what happens in Cuba... Castro.

Sure the Cubans want the embargo lifted. So do I. I agree that it's useless. It's also meaningless when it comes to the condition of the Cuban people. But the embargo is too valuable to Castro for him to work with the US to lift it. And so it stays in place. But even if it were to be lifted tomorrow, Castro would still find a way to make America the bad guy. He'd have to. So maybe the powers that be in the US feel that keeping the embargo in place is better than whatever alternative might be looming out there.

We look at Cuba and see things like busted down cars and crumbling buildings and infrastructure. When we see these things the first thing to come to mind is the US embargo. Therefore it becomes the fault of the embargo, and therefore the US that Cubans are suffering. So, we've come full circle.

[Ken Gargett]

According to your statements, all the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people is because of the embargo, and it's the fault of the US that the embargo hasn't been lifted, therefore it just naturally follows that the US is to blame for the suffering of the Cuban people. That's obviously a fairly simplistic and narrow view.

The undeniable truth is that the government who is responsible for the Cuban people is the Cuban government... i.e. the Castros. Not the American President or the American Congress, or even the American people, but the Castros. First Fidel and now Raoul.

I don't accept the premise that the embargo is responsible for all of the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people, and that is probably where you and I could talk long enough to burn through a box of DC's and still not agree. After all, it's a trade embargo, not a blockade. Cuba has had relationships with Russia ever since they pointed nuclear missiles towards the US, as well as several of the very rich oil producing countries in the world. In addition, Cuba has discovered some pretty big oil reserves off its coast. The only people holding the Cuban people down are the Castros. I think if Obama lifted the embargo tomorrow there would be very little impact on the Cuban people other than they'd have a few more tourists. But the tourist industry is alive and well in Cuba today. How's it working for the people when any foreign currency has to be converted by the government into worthless Cuban convertible Pesos before the Cuban people get it? Who gets the benefit of foreign currency coming into the country, the Cuban people or the Cuban government.

Who else do I blame?? How about Fidel and Raoul Castro. They have complete control. They can overcome 100 embargoes by simply allowing the Cuban people to travel and work outside the country. The Castros have the ability to show the Cuban people and the world that the embargo is virtually meaningless. He can give the Cuban people some basic freedoms instead of believing that he owns their life. They would be able to work in Europe, South America, Asia or even probably the US. They would be able to help themselves and their families, US embargo or not. So how about laying the blame on the person who has 100% control over what happens in Cuba... Castro.

Sure the Cubans want the embargo lifted. So do I. I agree that it's useless. It's also meaningless when it comes to the condition of the Cuban people. But the embargo is too valuable to Castro for him to work with the US to lift it. And so it stays in place. But even if it were to be lifted tomorrow, Castro would still find a way to make America the bad guy. He'd have to. So maybe the powers that be in the US feel that keeping the embargo in place is better than whatever alternative might be looming out there.

We look at Cuba and see things like busted down cars and crumbling buildings and infrastructure. When we see these things the first thing to come to mind is the US embargo. Therefore it becomes the fault of the embargo, and therefore the US that Cubans are suffering. So, we've come full circle.

With the greatest respect, what you are suggesting is a load of crap.

“According to your statements, all the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people is because of the embargo”. No – I said that the embargo has caused a hell of a lot of hurt. There are plenty of other reasons but does anyone really dispute that? You think that the embargo is a picnic for the Cuban people? How do you think parents in Cuba feel being told that they cannot get certain medicines for their kids because they are made in America and unless Cuba, an independent nation whether the States likes it or not, bends over and does exactly what Uncle Sam says. Meanwhile, tough luck. Try and die peacefully. This from a nation that proclaims itself the beacon of human rights.

I also acknowledged that no one knows it they would be worse off or not without it and we will never know, but that doesn't mean it hasn't caused them a world of pain.

“But the tourist industry is alive and well in Cuba today.” The tourist industry is in tatters. The figures reveal that numbers visiting are way down. A large part of that is that a govt to the north with some 300 million people stops its own people from travelling there (if an Aussie govt pulled that stunt with any country, you wouldn't be able to book a ticket for years, such would be the queue). The Cubans simply have no real expertise or access to many of things that could have hugely improved tourism here – again, much (certainly not all) of that is down to the embargo.

No doubt it is the Castros that are responsible for a great deal of the pain but in the States, we have a nation which by and large, and granted there has been support for a few too many dictators over the years to take it very seriously, considers itself some sort of sheriff for truth and justice and human rights (in general I like to believe that the USA is well intentioned, despite their best efforts on so many occasions to convince me otherwise) and what it has done has helped entrenched the very people it claims to oppose. No embargo and I suspect that the Castros would have been nothing more than a footnote in history by now. Democracy would have had a far better chance in Cuba if there had been no embargo.

“They would be able to work in Europe, South America, Asia or even probably the US. They would be able to help themselves and their families, US embargo or not.” How? There is an embargo.

“Who else do I blame?? How about Fidel and Raoul Castro.” No argument that the world would have been a better place without them but they didn't impose the embargo. The States did. Blaming them for it is like blaming a hostage for being taken prisoner (the hostage might be a horrible person but that isn't the issue). Don't forget that Castro turned to the States after he got rid of Batista, something that I assume we all consider to have been a good thing, and they rebuffed him (a silly little petty act that has led to decades of turmoil and pain for a great many on all sides). Interesting how quick the States are to embrace world opinion when it suits their purposes and dismiss it when it does not.

“So how about laying the blame on the person who has 100% control over what happens in Cuba... Castro.” That is the most simplistic thing I have heard in a long time. Do you really think that any leader or indeed government has 100% control over what happens in their country, especially a small country? Do you think Obama and/or the US govt has 100% control over what happens in the USA? It doesn't work that way.

This is the bit I really object to. “But the embargo is too valuable to Castro for him to work with the US to lift it. And so it stays in place. But even if it were to be lifted tomorrow, Castro would still find a way to make America the bad guy. He'd have to. So maybe the powers that be in the US feel that keeping the embargo in place is better than whatever alternative might be looming out there.”

Asking Castro to work with the USA to lift the embargo beggars belief. The States imposed it, the States can lift it. Merely because the States doesn't, or didn't like what was happening at the time, it has the right to do this to an independent nation? And to maintain it? The utter arrogance of that is mindboggling, not to mention disgusting. We both agree that the embargo benefits Castro so get rid of it. The Castro's/Cubans won't be the only people/nation on the planet that makes America out to be the bad guy but with the embargo gone, the States has a chance to show by actions that they are not.

The fact is that a long parade of presidents have been embarrassed by the Castro's and how they have outlasted them and outmaneuvered them. They think they'll lose face (or votes but then apparently votes at home are more important than doing the right thing) if they just finish it but they don't realise that while it remains in place they look like dills. They have been given the run around by a tiny nation and hence the embargo is kept in place through spite, pettiness and votes (the day a president sees more votes in lifting it than keeping it, watch for them to suddenly come over all 'rights of the people'). American presidents are no more or less hypocrites than politicians anywhere.

[Shelby07]

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that years of cutting taxes for the rich has taken its toll.

Perhaps if the obscene profits of the banking system and weathiest corporations were adequately taxed, if the billionaires paid a fair share, and if the gov't cut the subsidies to industrial agriculture, things might turn around.

Part of the reason that the people are bankrupt is that they are spending a fortune for the privilege of being ripped off (i.e. unfair taxation).

Unfortunately, the gov't (through the Federal Reserve) will, as it always has, take the easy way out, and pass off the problem to the future by creating trillions of dollars out of nothing.

Inflation is the inevitable result.

It is not by coincidence that gold is almost $1100/oz.

Years of "cutting taxes" is an illusion. The Gov't may have cut tax rates, but they never stopped spending or borrowing, therefore they never stopped incurring debt, and since all debt eventually has to be paid by taxes all they were doing was delaying tax hikes and collections. In fact, they implemented laws that would encourage people to borrow money that they could never pay back. Then they decided to back these bad loans with the full power of the US treasury. The outcome was inevitable. Loans defaulted on and the government making good on them, which is kind of what TARP did.

This whole financial collapse could have been predicted by some far seeing sooth when Nixon decided that money didn't have to be backed by gold, but just a guarantee from the government. Then when Barney Frank & Co inacted laws that required banks to make home loans to people who couldn't repay them and the federally backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to guarantee them, that was the beginning of the end. I'm no financial genius, but even I suspected what would eventually happen back then. The assumption was that real estate would continue to appreciate, so the value would continue to rise even if the conditions of the loan never required the homeowner to pay back one penny of the principal.

We finally got to the part where the paper was worth more than the property and the real estate bubble burst. Home values dropped and people were left holding properties that they couldn't afford and they didn't have enough equity in to refinance, so they walked away. The banks couldn't sell them for what they had into them, so they took a loss. As the housing glut grew and the values dropped even further, more people walked away from their houses. Eventually the banks couldn't sustain the losses.

So in a sense the govt never really cut taxes, they just postponed the eventual collection of them by continuing to spend what they didn't have and could never get.

As for taxing the rich out of huge amounts of their money, the govt doesn't tax on what you have, they tax on what you make. You might get a bunch of money from the rich for the first year, but if you take away their incentive to make more the next year then we're kinda screwed.

My head hurts.

[El Presidente]

There is enough blame to be shared in relation to the Embargo. No need to split hairs.

Competent, progressive, controlled Cuban leadership is the key. Unfortunately they don't have any of the first two factors.

Cuba is a basket case caught between rampant domestic political and economic incompetence and a ridiculous embargo which cuts them off from a country which generates 25% of word GDP.

Lifting of the embargo would certainly be welcome by the Cuban people. However it is only half the problem. How they extricate themselves from 50 years of political lunacy is the other half.

[Shelby07]

With the greatest respect, what you are suggesting is a load of crap.

Not a load of crap, just a difference of opinion.

“According to your statements, all the hurt that has been imposed on the Cuban people is because of the embargo”. No – I said that the embargo has caused a hell of a lot of hurt. There are plenty of other reasons but does anyone really dispute that? You think that the embargo is a picnic for the Cuban people? How do you think parents in Cuba feel being told that they cannot get certain medicines for their kids because they are made in America and unless Cuba, an independent nation whether the States likes it or not, bends over and does exactly what Uncle Sam says. Meanwhile, tough luck. Try and die peacefully. This from a nation that proclaims itself the beacon of human rights.

There are many countries that don't have access to US medicines. In fact, just about every country in the world that has weak intellectual property laws don't have access to modern medicines developed here or anywhere else in the world. I know a bit about this since I have been involved with a company who wants to bring new medical technologies to India for the past year.

It costs billions of dollars (with a "B") to get new drugs or diagnostic procedures through the FDA approval process, and that doesn't count the cost to develop and test the drugs before submitting them for approval. No company is going to spend that kind of money then send their drugs to a country who will not legally protect their investment if their product is copied and marketed throughout the world.

As far as I know, Cuba can trade with any other country on earth. There are many countries who are making medicines that would be happy to export to Cuba. To imply that the US is the only place where Cuba can get medicine is incorrect. Your facts are incorrect and your response is highly dramatic.

As for other American products, I've read that they are readily available in Cuba, as they are imported from other countries. The fact that the people can't afford them is not the fault of the embargo.

I also acknowledged that no one knows it they would be worse off or not without it and we will never know, but that doesn't mean it hasn't caused them a world of pain.

I saw that you acknowledged the point, then you went on to say that even though we have no earthly idea what would have happened, you continue to contend that the embargo has caused the Cuban people a "world of pain." If we don't know if things would have been better or worse then how can you argue the point? There are many poor countries who trade with and receive aid from the US. In fact, there is an island right next to Cuba that is in pretty poor shape(Haiti) yet there is no embargo there.

“But the tourist industry is alive and well in Cuba today.” The tourist industry is in tatters. The figures reveal that numbers visiting are way down. A large part of that is that a govt to the north with some 300 million people stops its own people from travelling there (if an Aussie govt pulled that stunt with any country, you wouldn't be able to book a ticket for years, such would be the queue). The Cubans simply have no real expertise or access to many of things that could have hugely improved tourism here – again, much (certainly not all) of that is down to the embargo.

Again, your statement makes no sense. Since it's never been legal for US citizens to travel to Cuba I don't see how fluctuations in Cuba's tourism can be blamed on more or less Americans vacationing in Cuba. Outside of people who are smoking Cuban cigars, I don't know of a lot of people who wanttto vacation in Cuba. When the subject of vacations come up, I hear Europe, Asia, Disneyland, Alaska and cruises. Rarely do people jump up and say "Ya' know, I'd love to go to Cuba, but the damn embargo won't let me." Those Americans who have desired to do so in the past have easily gotten around the restrictions, and I assume those methods still exist. Besides that, the fact that the Cuban government still takes foreign money and converts it to worthless Cuban Pesos before it gets to the Cuban people still exists.

No doubt it is the Castros that are responsible for a great deal of the pain but in the States, we have a nation which by and large, and granted there has been support for a few too many dictators over the years to take it very seriously, considers itself some sort of sheriff for truth and justice and human rights (in general I like to believe that the USA is well intentioned, despite their best efforts on so many occasions to convince me otherwise) and what it has done has helped entrenched the very people it claims to oppose. No embargo and I suspect that the Castros would have been nothing more than a footnote in history by now. Democracy would have had a far better chance in Cuba if there had been no embargo.

What country doesn't purport to be a beacon of truth and light. They all do, even Cuba. As you said in your original post, there may be other reasons, political or strategic, that they aren't lifting the embargo. The only thing that makes any sense is that up until recently it was politically expedient to not even bother, and politics factor into everything that happens in all governments around the world even in those that purport to be a beacon of truth and light. The US cannot be held responsible for every bad thing that goes on in the world. The insinuation that it can, or even that it is obligated to do so, is pure BS. To imply that the US should take every situation and do whatever it takes for the greater good unconditionally is just bellyaching. The US does more for people around the world in the way of financial aid, disaster relief and protection than any other nation in the world.

“They would be able to work in Europe, South America, Asia or even probably the US. They would be able to help themselves and their families, US embargo or not.” How? There is an embargo.

US politicians have a way of making exceptions for foreign citizens. They are very anxious to open their shores to Cuban refugees because the Cuban-American population can easily swing Florida one way or the other. Maybe Cubans would be able to work here in a limited capacity and maybe they wouldn't, but it wouldn't surprise me if exceptions were made if only the people were free to try. The sad truth is that they don't have the freedom to even try. They could definitely work for companies in other countries around the world. Either way, I think you'd agree that the inability to travel outside of Cuba is doing more harm to the Cuban people than the trade embargo. Yet nothing is posted here several times a month about that situation.

“Who else do I blame?? How about Fidel and Raoul Castro.” No argument that the world would have been a better place without them but they didn't impose the embargo. The States did. Blaming them for it is like blaming a hostage for being taken prisoner (the hostage might be a horrible person but that isn't the issue). Don't forget that Castro turned to the States after he got rid of Batista, something that I assume we all consider to have been a good thing, and they rebuffed him (a silly little petty act that has led to decades of turmoil and pain for a great many on all sides). Interesting how quick the States are to embrace world opinion when it suits their purposes and dismiss it when it does not.

When Castro took away the land and the freedoms of the Cuban people the US opened itself up to Cuban refugees. It still does so to this day. The Cuban refugees and the Cuban-American population have been the biggest reason that the US has not lifted the embargo.

“So how about laying the blame on the person who has 100% control over what happens in Cuba... Castro.” That is the most simplistic thing I have heard in a long time. Do you really think that any leader or indeed government has 100% control over what happens in their country, especially a small country? Do you think Obama and/or the US govt has 100% control over what happens in the USA? It doesn't work that way.

You're picking nits here. Are you implying that unless the US lifts the embargo that there is absolutely nothing that Castro can do short of kissing the US's posterior that would improve the lives of the Cuban people, and if he refuses to do that the US will continue to do all sorts of horrible things to make life miserable for the Cubans? Of course they don't have 100% control of the people, but he does have 100% control over what the government does. And I'd submit that he has a hell of a lot more control over the Cuban people than the US government has over me.

This is the bit I really object to. “But the embargo is too valuable to Castro for him to work with the US to lift it. And so it stays in place. But even if it were to be lifted tomorrow, Castro would still find a way to make America the bad guy. He'd have to. So maybe the powers that be in the US feel that keeping the embargo in place is better than whatever alternative might be looming out there.”

Asking Castro to work with the USA to lift the embargo beggars belief. The States imposed it, the States can lift it. Merely because the States doesn't, or didn't like what was happening at the time, it has the right to do this to an independent nation? And to maintain it? The utter arrogance of that is mindboggling, not to mention disgusting. We both agree that the embargo benefits Castro so get rid of it. The Castro's/Cubans won't be the only people/nation on the planet that makes America out to be the bad guy but with the embargo gone, the States has a chance to show by actions that they are not.

I don't disagree with you there, but that doesn't address the point that the US is not responsible for the suffering of the Cuban people, Castro is.

The fact is that a long parade of presidents have been embarrassed by the Castro's and how they have outlasted them and outmaneuvered them. They think they'll lose face (or votes but then apparently votes at home are more important than doing the right thing) if they just finish it but they don't realise that while it remains in place they look like dills. They have been given the run around by a tiny nation and hence the embargo is kept in place through spite, pettiness and votes (the day a president sees more votes in lifting it than keeping it, watch for them to suddenly come over all 'rights of the people'). American presidents are no more or less hypocrites than politicians anywhere.

So, we look like dills and Castro looks like, what... a victim of US tyranny? I think this last part gets to the heart of why I get so irritated whenever I hear that the US embargo is responsible for a nation of people suffering in poverty. It's a useless embargo. I agree with that. It was ineffective and it should be lifted. We agree. But take a look at the title of this thread. "crippling Cuba embargo?" C'mon... why are so many people so quick to jump onto and defend this ridiculous statement. The embargo is stupid, ineffective and useless. But it is not the "crippling" factor that is suppressing the Cuban people that so many here seem to be so quick to imply and defend.

I apologize for the tone of this next part in advance.

I am an American. Not a blind, flag waving, "my country can do no wrong" American, but there are things that I am proud of. We help a lot of people around the world. I believe that while we aren't perfect, we do more good than harm and, bankrupt or not, we are always the first ones to offer aid and defense to the rest of the world. And oddly enough, if we fail to we seem to get condemned for it. One thing I can say without fear that anyone here will argue with is that my country has offered me a much better life than Castro has given to the Cuban people. And stupid as the embargo may be, I can't sit by and watch people knock my country while they say little or nothing about a little tin horn murdering dictator who has taken away any individual freedom the Cuban people might have once had.