• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 10 / 03 / 2010

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Published: 12:00 a.m., Saturday, October 2, 2010. Cuban authorities have announced that they will lay off 500,000 government employees in an attempt to shrink their massive budget, and allow private sector businesses to be created and run independently of government oversight.

But there are problems with this move. For one, Cubans have lived for generations relying solely on their government for their basic needs.

This will be a social experiment to see if people can overcome a lifetime of restriction and embrace a free economic society. This is the perfect opportunity for U.S. businesses to operate in Cuba again.

On the Cuban side, it will offer myriad new jobs for the newly unemployed, strengthening the economy and creating a stable economic and social environment. On the American side, it opens a new market with a lot of customers and new revenue sources in manufacturing and tourism.

If the United States wants Cuba to embrace free market principles, Cubans need to see that they will benefit from them. The United States can help the Cuban people embrace those principles and help guide them to economic prosperity.

This is the perfect time for America to get back into the Cuban market, when the people are hungry for economic prosperity.
Jerred Hickey

Source: www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/U-S-can-help-Cuba-embrace-free-market...