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Should the US end its embargo against Cuba?

Should the US embargo on Cuba be ended?

  • No.

    Votes: 12 18.2%

  • Yes.

    Votes: 46 69.7%

  • Yes, but with conditions or limits.

    Votes: 6 9.1%

  • I'm unsure or don't care either way.

    Votes: 2 3.0%
  • Total voters
    66
Van Basten said:
Sure, it's probably been long enough.

Whether we do or don't means little to me at the moment.

And yea, Cuba's nothing like North Korea. Far as dictatorships go, it's not that bad. Nice beaches.
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And its kind of odd ball that Canadians, Europeans and people from all over the world vacation there but Americans, who specialize in individual freedom are banded from traveling there (less restrictions) by orders of our central government. We had a foreign exchange student from Spain stay with us recently and were talking about places her family had traveled, Cuba being one place. Since its so close she was curious as to whether we'd been there. Europeans do a lot more international travel that we do anyway (because if you live in America why go anywhere else? ), but that's another thread. When I told her our government prohibits it, she was speechless.
 
US Conservative said:
I never said that China was an angel, but we both have shared interests and can work together.
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We sort of have to at this point. The legacy of Nixon and Kissinger. Within months they will reportedly surpass America as the world's leading economy.. but of course that's because of Obama. How do we expect to compete with sweat shop wages with our minimum wage that the libs actually want to increase, not to mention child labor laws?
 
You forgot to mention that the US will not buy any of Cuba's exports. Cuba has to spend more money to send their exports further. As for the US sending food and other basic necessities, as well as non-agricultural and medical donations, this was done after the Trade Sanction Reform and Export Enhancement Act was passed. The first ship didn't leave for Cuba until 2012 and it was Cuban-Americans sending it to their family members. That is not trade. There is also the Cuban Democracy Act which states
All countries trading with Cuba should discontinue doing so as well as cancel any economic activity with the country
Any country trading with Cuba risks not being eligible for aid from the U.S.
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Any vessel which has traded goods or services with Cuba cannot within 180 days dock at a U.S. port
Currency traded from the U.S. to Cuba will be limited in order to prevent the Cuban government from obtaining access to U.S. currency
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And by chartered air-travel or other travel from the US; must be a chartered flight.
 
Smeagol said:
Europeans do a lot more international travel that we do anyway
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No, just Germany, we rank second in terms of nations that travel internationally the most. However, with 300 million people and many having not been to another country, it can feel this way. It's a lot easier for Europeans to travel to other countries by default, just to add.

Anyway, to be fair, Americans can still travel to Cuba....just gotta circumvent some stuff.
 
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yes the embargo should be lifted, in the interest of the American people....why the American people?


by lifting the embargo, this will allow the Cubans to slowly rebuild their economy on their own, making it stronger.


if the embargo stands and the GOVERNMENT FALLS, then the American tax payers on going to be on the hook for "billions" to rebuild that nation.

the u.s. would immediately begin creating aid packages to Cuba, anyone who have studied our history for the last several decades knows that.



TRADE NOW, OR PAY LATER!
 

The Castroit regime has nothing to sale, no sugar, tobacco , coffee, etc. The regime imported $13.8 billion during 2012, but was only able to export $5.58 billion of merchandises during 2012, according to Cuba's National Statistics Office. The trade balance deficit amount to $822 biilion.

On December 12, 2013, the regime-run weekly Trabajadores reported that “coffee production has fallen by 90 percent in recent years. Cuba once produced 60,000 tons of coffee per year, but now it scarcely reaches 10 percent of that quantity,” Trabajadores said, citing figures compiled by the Agriculture Ministry.

Cuba coffee harvest in 1956 reached 60,000 tons and was capable of exporting 20,000 tons valued at $20 million. In 2012, coffee production reached only 4,000 tons. Coffee production has suffered a huge reduction of 93.3% in comparison with 1956, and imports of coffee amounted to $50 million. Coffee production per capita in 1956 with a population of 6.3 million was 21 pounds, and in 2012 with a population of 11.2 million of only 0.79 lbs. Another of the great catastrophes of the Castroit regime.
 
From your own article

Surely you don't blame Castro for the droughts and hurricanes. Cuba has also gone into a more organic method of growing crops because the cost of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are more expensive coming from nations that are lot further away. It doesn't matter though. I'm sure it's all Castro's fault.
 

I assure you the left has put no thought into it and more importantly does not care.
 

crickets
 

A little thing called the Cuban Missile Crisis... When someone offers to allow your enemy to place their weapons at your front door, you end up with a bit of an attitude towards them.
 
faithful_servant said:
A little thing called the Cuban Missile Crisis... When someone offers to allow your enemy to place their weapons at your front door, you end up with a bit of an attitude towards them.
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People with that attitude have already left public office.
 
I think that would lead to Cuban instability. What do they do in Cuba apart from hating America anyway? Play baseball?
 


But it's worked so well. There's no more communists there!
 

The United States were big supporters of the government Castro overthrew. That and the Cold War.

Now it's mostly about currying political favor with Cuban refugee voters in Florida.
 
Honestly...the embargo in Cuba only exists due a vocal minority of folks that are willing to do anything to ensure it stays in place. Not to mention...they are a large voting bloc in one of the largest swing states...
 
Luftwaffe said:
Castro is essentially dead.

Now that the inferior subhuman is gone we can and should begin reintroducing Cuba to the rest of the world (rest of the world = USA).
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However his bastard brothers are still running Cuba pretty much the same as he would.
 
We will inspire the changes we want to see in Cuba by opening up travel, trade and communication with the Cuban people. China still has many Human rights issues, but the people are better off since the west stopped isolating them. Isolating Cuba has been proven to be ineffective and creates unnecessary misery.
 

I don't agree. The Cuban regime was not interested in trade with the west until their sugar daddy, the USSR fell off the grid. The USSR had financed Cuba and propped up the regime with phony sugar cane subsidies. Now that those subsidies are gone, the regime has to rise or fall on it's own. As cruel as it may sound to some, the most compassionate action we can take is to continue the embargo until their communist system of government collapses. Then Cuba will become the prosperous Island Vacation Oasis it once was. All they are looking for now is western dollars to prop up the regime. If we drop the embargo with no conditions, the Cuban people's lot in life will see little or no improvement as long as the present form of government exists.
 
vasuderatorrent said:
2014 - 1959 = 55 years. Be serious. Strom Thurmond died in 2003.
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I wasn't aware that Thurmond was a Cuban law-maker...


I'm not a big fan of the embargo, but I understand the rational behind maintaining it. Cuba is a severely oppressive dictatorship who's leadership was part of the biggest threat to this nation we've ever had (the Cuban Missile Crisis). Taking steps to make sure that a clear message is sent about this kind of thing is important. I do believe that opening up tourism to/from Cuba would be a good thing, but I'd hesitate to go much further than that until the Cuban leaders who were a part of the Cuban Missile Crisis are no longer in power.
 
US Conservative said:
Cubans have decided they want communism. Let them keep it and its consequences until they see fit.
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What government they have in their country is their business. And if I choose to do business with a country that does things differently the US federal government should BUTT OUT.
 
US Conservative said:
All communism needs is capitalisms money to sustain itself. We saw this in the USSR, we see it now in China. Adopt capitalist principles and keep the same marxist fail and they are GTG for decades.
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"Communism" in the USSR fell and China is adapting to a more capitalist system. Cuba on the other hand remains firmly "communist" with the embargo. Who's strategy is working?
 
Geoist said:
What government they have in their country is their business. And if I choose to do business with a country that does things differently the US federal government should BUTT OUT.
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I think its a legitimate function of govt to set some degree of diplomatic and trade relations.
Whats keeping you from moving to a more Cuba-friendly nation? Id just like you to engage in all the free trade you'd like.
 
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