HERE'S A STARTLING FACT. IN CUBA, A TAXI DRIVER EARNS MORE THAN A NEUROSURGEON OR A DOCTOR! HERE'S WHY.
Ever since the communists swept away Cuba, the government has maintained a tight control over public life, a typical Communist cliche as seen in nations like China & Russia. Now you might be wondering how is this related to doctors & cab drivers.
HERE'S HOW:
1. PUBLIC REFORM.
Public healthcare and public schools are completely free in Cuba. All the costs are borne by the government. So the number of doctors are relatively higher,As per worldpoliticsreview.com, there are 2000 doctors in Havana alone!
2. MEDICAL DIPLOMACY.
Since the times of Fidel Castro, Cuban doctors have been sent to several Caribbean and Latin American nations to extend co-operation and enhance diplomatic ties .So the demand and prestige associated to doctors has been high.
COVID update: These doctors are also sent to European nations of Italy and Andorra despite American resentment.
CUBAN DOCTORS IN MILAN
4. COMPLETE GOVERNMENT CONTROL.
Government is the only employer of doctors in Cuba. As there are no trade unions (its Communism!), salaries are determined by Government ONLY. One the other hand, Taxi drivers are free from govt. control.
5. Tourism.
Taxi drivers earn more as Cuba attracts a lot of tourists. In fact, Cuban economy earned US$ 6 BILLION in 2008 solely from tourism. A staggering 10.6% of Cuban GDP is from tourism and travel! {component of services}
In conclusion, I believe the Cubans are better off with this system because the average life expectancy of Cuba is more than USA by a year (72.3 years). Also as schooling and healthcare is free, 2 main sources of private expenditure are nil. So the comparatively lower pay of doctors is not as bad as it may seem. But this system would be difficult to adopt in other democratic and capitalist nations.
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Image courtesy @GQ.COM AND WORDPRESS..