Thursday, June 05, 2008

Cuban Money Worries

Here's an interesting item from today's paper:

In Rare Study, Cubans Put Money Worries First

A rare study conducted surreptitiously in Cuba found that more than half of those interviewed considered their economic woes to be their chief concern while less than 10 percent listed lack of political freedom as the main problem facing the country.
...
Cubans of all ages supported an economic overhaul. More than 80 percent said they backed a market economic system that included the right to own property and run businesses.

Cuba’s problems were ranked this way: low salaries and high cost of living, double currency standard, lack of political freedoms, embargo and isolation, food scarcity, lack of medicines, poor transportation infrastructure and lack of housing or dilapidated conditions.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So interesting. Is it that economic security (if there is such a thing) is lower on Maslow's pyramid than political freedom? It does seem like being able to buy a house would be more of a concern than being able to express one's political views freely.

Anonymous said...

And they don't see their lack of money as being tied to their political problem?