From an article in the Economist, which discusses how the ownership and sale of automobiles by Cubans is severely restricted by the monarchical dictatorship, comes this little gem:
Even if Raúl Castro, who is driven around in a BMW, does decide to ease the rules on car ownership, few Cubans will benefit—at least in the short term. With average wages at just $17 a month, a mobile phone, let alone a car or a stay at a tourist hotel, is out of the reach of all but a tiny minority (mainly those with generous relatives abroad). A change in the rules might nevertheless be welcomed by one group the government is keen to keep loyal.
Ahhhh… It’s good to be the king.
This is exactly what O’Grady brought to light in her most recent WSJ article:
All the reforms are only benefiting those with money. They may actually hurt communism by making it easier for those who have wealth to show off their economic standing.
Deja vu, in China, in Russia, in Venezuela, now in Cuba… no surprise. To borrow the Levin term, the Mercedes Marxists – they’re all the same. Dictators dressed in a bankrupt ideology that has never worked anywhere, and just provides money and power to those who have the guns. That’s one reason I’m not much of a pacifist. You can’t get rid of this type of totalitarianism via economic “reforms.”