This is inspired by a previous thread about going to North Korea. I was wondering if anyone here, if they got the chance, would go to Cuba and spend their money there. I've always wanted to go (although obviously I can't) but I was wondering if I did somehow get the chance to go, if I should actually do that, and if you guys would too.
Sure.
“Since people are concerned that ‘X’ will not be provided, ‘X’ will naturally be provided by those who are concerned by its absence.""The sweetest of minds can harbor the harshest of men.”
http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.org
I sure would. What better place to get a cuban cigar!
Yeah, I was just curious if it falls under the area of violating one's principles by going there. We all know though that Communism's days in that country are numbered. Centrally planned economies never work.
Hell yeah, I love mojito's.
"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."
lol, you'd go to Cuba just for the cocktails?
SkepticalMetal: Yeah, I was just curious if it falls under the area of violating one's principles by going there. We all know though that Communism's days in that country are numbered. Centrally planned economies never work.
Not at all. Going to Cuba and engaging in the voluntary exchange of goods is a wonderful way to remind oneself of the farcical nature of the state.
Cool, thanks. I just don't think that the U.S. is going to be cancelling the embargo any time soon, which sucks.
SkepticalMetal: This is inspired by a previous thread about going to North Korea. I was wondering if anyone here, if they got the chance, would go to Cuba and spend their money there. I've always wanted to go (although obviously I can't) but I was wondering if I did somehow get the chance to go, if I should actually do that, and if you guys would too.
To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process. Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!" Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."
An ironic reminder of how when it comes to placing travel restrictions on their citizens US and North Korea (and Cuba for that matter) are similar. Americans have a difficult time traveling to Cuba and North Koreans have a difficult time traveling anywhere. Loads of people I know have been to Cuba, it's not even thought of as a big deal.
Except for that tiny issue that is Socialism, Cuba is nowhere near as bad as North Korea. And in recent years the Castro brothers have started making some timid steps towards privatization, for example by allowing farmers to take over lands left fallow by the tobacco market crash. At the moment these lands are given to the farmer (and his heirs) on a 99 years lease but the situation will surely change in the future.
Unless you go on the streets publicly insulting Castro, life in Cuba is about a hundred time better than in North Korea. There isn't abundance but nobody is starving in the streets either. Cubans are on the average much smarter than Koreans and the regime has turned a blind eye on the small scale free market they engage into for over fifty years. It's not prosperity but it gives enough to put food on the table and it's probably what saved Cuba from becoming your average Socialist hellhole.
Oh and one thing: if you go there look up for the "Che" beer. It's one of the best beers I have ever tasted.
Even if you're an American, it's fairly easy to get in. Most I met either go through Toronto or Cancun to fly to Havana. Cuban authorities will not stamp your passport. I tell you, it was the trip of my lifetime when I went. It was the most bizarre and fascinating place I've been. Will never forget it. The people are among the friendliest I've ever met. The music scene was great. There is no such word as "impossible" to them. They can fix any car or any appliance with parts made in their backyard. You really go back in time. This is the country where almost no-one has ever heard of Facebook or Google. Cell phones are rare. Typewritters are more common than computers. And outside the capital, horse and buggy common forms of transport.
One of the most unintentionally funny place I visited was the Museum of the Revolution. Just as you walk in the door, you see a huge mural depicting Bush Sr, Reagan, and Batista in a derogatory way. In the yard of the museum, you view actual American military planes and land vehicles that were destroyed during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
You get treated well even if you're an American? Cool.