Apparently, no one believed us, for it's only now (almost two months later) that the media is abuzz with news and panic about Castro's major tax increase.
And it's major indeed -- just read the previous post.
This week, there's been a story every day on how these taxes will affect the self-employment sector and why Raul Castro would throw this wrench at the economy (as if he cared about the general well-being).
The reason is very simple -- it's all about the regime's income.
The Castro regime doesn't care about the self-employment sector. If it did, it would allow Cubans to actually own (as opposed to leasing from the state) their businesses and free up the wholesale market (controlled solely by the state).
It doesn't care about regular Cubans making money. To the contrary, it seeks a twisted formula whereby Cubans can make as little as necessary to distract and ease discontent, while simultaneously maximizing the regime's income.
Nothing new here. The Castro regime only cares about its own coffers.
That's why its economic strategy is not about growth. It's about regime income.
The Castro brothers knows these taxes will stifle the self-employment sector, but if they don't impose it, their wholesale sector will be wiped out and they'll lose direct income. That's also why the Cuban Constitution of 1976 restricts any Cuban from participating in foreign trade (imports and exports). It's solely in the purview of the state.
Thus, this tax seeks to protect the regime's wholesale markets, while increasing the regime's income -- for some Cuban-Americans and other travelers will all-too-willingly oblige to their new demands.
The media should stop trying to rationalize the Castro regime's policies as if it were a regular, elected government looking to improve its people's lot.
It's a totalitarian dictatorship -- by definition, it's all about them.
