Socialism, ain't it great.Cash-strapped Cuba says toilet paper running short

[PocketProtector]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090807/..._toiletpaper_1

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday.

Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked in part by the global financial crisis and three destructive hurricanes that struck the island last year.

Cuba's financial reserves have been depleted by increased spending for imports and reduced export income, which has forced the communist-led government to take extraordinary measures to keep the economy afloat.

"The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper," an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde.

The shipment will enable the state-run company "to supply this demand that today is presenting problems," he said.

Cuba both imports toilet paper and produces its own, but does not currently have enough raw materials to make it, he said.

One of the measures taken to address the cash crunch is a 20 percent cut in imports, which in recent days has become evident in the reduction of goods in state-run stores.

Cuba imports about 60 percent of its food.

Despite the shortages, prices will be cut between 5 percent and 27 percent for some food, drugs and personal hygiene products, officials said.

A visit to a store in Havana's Vedado neighborhood on Friday found that prices had dropped for mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and canned squid.

One customer, who gave his name only as Pedro, complained that "it doesn't look like prices have been lowered for the fundamental products" such as cooking oil.

Ana Maria Ortega, deputy director for military-run retail conglomerate TRD Caribe, said there will be no shortage of basic goods.

"The conditions are in place to maintain the supply of essential products," she said on the same radio program.

Cubans receive a subsidized food ration from the government each month that they say meets their needs for about two weeks.

President Raul Castro told the National Assembly last week that the government had cut its spending budget for the second time this year and has been renegotiating its debt and payments with foreign providers.

Cuba has long blamed the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island for many of its economic problems. It also said that last year's hurricanes did $10 billion worth of damage that forced the government to spend heavily on imports of food and reconstruction products.

Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba's productivity is too low.

He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.

[Halftrack]

They can wipe themselves with tobacco leaves they aren't using for cigars.

Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba's productivity is too low.

He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.

How can this be? " Everyone" knows socialism is a far superior system. I thought private ownership was anathema to a healthy society?

Why in the world would anyone want to take a step "backward" toward capitalism?

[PocketProtector]

Thank goodness we can laugh about the total assininty (is that a word?) in this world. Unfortunately the scary part is the OWhite House and whacko leftists aspire to be like them. Well, they want the dictatorial powers at least.

[Halftrack]

Thank goodness we can laugh about the total assininty (is that a word?) in this world.

Asshat-oid behavior? LOL

Many, if not all, of the countries that have gone down the hard core road to socialism have found that it really doesn't work so well and they have to take a step back toward the greed of capitalism. Why is anybody surprised that people won't work very hard if the profit motive is taken away from them? People innately want to enjoy the benefits of their own efforts.

Generational welfare recipients are another matter. They've been conditioned to accept it as a way of life.

It is absolutely amazing that the leadership (a loosely used term, BTW) of this country thinks they can make it work better.

My head wants to explode.

[King 5.45]

¡ Qué cagadita ! They should have thought this through years ago and come up with a solution.

[Philbert]

I might be more inclined to listen to the lulz of the anti-socialist crowd if we if we weren't still putting a punitive trade embargo on the place. Not very free markety of us.

[King 5.45]

I might be more inclined to listen to the lulz of the anti-socialist crowd if we if we weren't still putting a punitive trade embargo on the place. Not very free markety of us.

Feel free to dig through Castro's speeches and feel the love: http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/

Listen to him and tell me if you could trust him farther than you could throw him:



I'd feel sorrier about the embargo, but I've known too many Cubans to think otherwise. They need to root out Castrista influences in their government and start fresh.

[CarolinaGuy]

Listen to him and tell me if you could trust him farther than you could throw him:

we import stuff from Saudi, pakistan, china, etc...

I sure don't trust those guys either. And we were gonna lease our ports to the UAE?

[1861]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090807/..._toiletpaper_1

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday.

Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked in part by the global financial crisis and three destructive hurricanes that struck the island last year.

Cuba's financial reserves have been depleted by increased spending for imports and reduced export income, which has forced the communist-led government to take extraordinary measures to keep the economy afloat.

"The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper," an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde.

The shipment will enable the state-run company "to supply this demand that today is presenting problems," he said.

Cuba both imports toilet paper and produces its own, but does not currently have enough raw materials to make it, he said.

One of the measures taken to address the cash crunch is a 20 percent cut in imports, which in recent days has become evident in the reduction of goods in state-run stores.

Cuba imports about 60 percent of its food.

Despite the shortages, prices will be cut between 5 percent and 27 percent for some food, drugs and personal hygiene products, officials said.

A visit to a store in Havana's Vedado neighborhood on Friday found that prices had dropped for mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and canned squid.

One customer, who gave his name only as Pedro, complained that "it doesn't look like prices have been lowered for the fundamental products" such as cooking oil.

Ana Maria Ortega, deputy director for military-run retail conglomerate TRD Caribe, said there will be no shortage of basic goods.

"The conditions are in place to maintain the supply of essential products," she said on the same radio program.

Cubans receive a subsidized food ration from the government each month that they say meets their needs for about two weeks.

President Raul Castro told the National Assembly last week that the government had cut its spending budget for the second time this year and has been renegotiating its debt and payments with foreign providers.

Cuba has long blamed the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island for many of its economic problems. It also said that last year's hurricanes did $10 billion worth of damage that forced the government to spend heavily on imports of food and reconstruction products.

Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba's productivity is too low.

He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.

Coming soon to a USA near you .

[Yellowfin]

Why don't we send them our president? Apparently he has it all figured out to make their system work here, right?