Redistributive Justice

The world of equality, re-distributive taxes, government operated markets and social justice is alive and well in Cuba.

HAVANA (AP) — Talk about sticker shock! 

President Barack Obama sharing the love with
Cuban legacy dictator Raul Castro.

Cubans are eagerly flocking to Havana car dealerships as a new law takes effect eliminating a special permit requirement that has greatly restricted vehicle ownership in the country. To their dismay on Friday, the first day the law was in force, they found sharply hiked prices, some of them light years beyond all but the most well-heeled islanders.

A new Kia Rio hatchback that starts at $13,600 in the United States sells for $42,000 here, while a fresh-off-the-lot Peugeot 508 family car, the most luxurious of which lists for the equivalent of about $53,000 in the U.K., will set you back a cool $262,000.

"Between all my family here in Cuba and over in Miami, we couldn't come up with that kind of money," said Gilbert Losada, a 28-year-old musical director. "We're going to wait and see if they lower the prices, which are really crazy. We're really disappointed."

Cuba's Communist-run government traditionally has placed huge markups on retail goods and services paid for with hard currency, a policy that amounts to a tax on people who can afford such goods. The practice applies to everything from dried pasta, to household appliances, to Internet access.

Through a series of mandates, penalties, excise and income taxes Obamacare is a massive re-distributive tax program that doesn't educate a single nurse, train a single doctor, open a single clinic or build a single hospital. Welcome to the world of socialism Havana style. Best wishes and good luck to all.