Lawmaker sees panel voting to end Cuba travel ban

[Samsquanch]

Thanks for posting this, I'll be calling my representatives to voice my support. Besides the obvious benefit of being able to legally purchase CC's (and rum!!), there's another side to the coin. It's obvious the embargo has not achieved it's desired outcome - instead it has simply made the situation for the Cuban people worse. Over the years there have been many authoritarian regimes and all have ended, except the one we put up an embargo against...Cubans are not our enemies.

[captain53]

Originally Posted by andpeo23

Thanks for posting this, I'll be calling my representatives to voice my support. Besides the obvious benefit of being able to legally purchase CC's (and rum!!), there's another side to the coin. It's obvious the embargo has not achieved it's desired outcome - instead it has simply made the situation for the Cuban people worse. Over the years there have been many authoritarian regimes and all have ended, except the one we put up an embargo against...Cubans are not our enemies.

Good Point, the best thing we can all do is call/write our Senators/Congressmen-women and express our interest but not to "buy cigars" but rather enjoy the vacation benefits and help the poor people of Cuba..... maybe we could even put together a form letter and post to use.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by captain53

Good Point, the best thing we can all do is call/write our Senators/Congressmen-women and express our interest but not to "buy cigars" but rather enjoy the vacation benefits and help the poor people of Cuba..... maybe we could even put together a form letter and post to use.

Help the people of Cuba by visiting?
Do any of you guys know the people of Cuba are not even allowed to enjoy any of the joys of any of the resorts? They can only work there and that is it. Without human rights and freedoms, how will they be helped by tourism?
Do most know that Cuba is a haven right now for vacationing Canadians, Spaniards, British, and on and on? So it is OUR tourism that will make them better? Serious?

I am all for ending it but for different reasons than most.
I don't give a hoot about buying cigars or traveling there, as much as I would like to see where I was born without having to go with a Cuban Passport.
I say end it because the very same folks that say it hasn't worked are the same that say it is what keeps them down. Can't have it both ways.
I say end it and let them scramble to find another better reason than the US as their excuse/argument. I truly think their system will crumble and they (Cuban Government) will oppose such change more than you can imagine.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by andpeo23

Thanks for posting this, I'll be calling my representatives to voice my support. Besides the obvious benefit of being able to legally purchase CC's (and rum!!), there's another side to the coin. It's obvious the embargo has not achieved it's desired outcome - instead it has simply made the situation for the Cuban people worse.(....)

No, Castro made things worse for the people of Cuba. Not our embargo. They get travel dollars and sales from all over the world and have been for decades, yet most of the people of the country still live in poverty because of their totalitarian government.

Originally Posted by andpeo23

Over the years there have been many authoritarian regimes and all have ended, except the one we put up an embargo against...

Really? ALL of them? When did that happen?

[Samsquanch]

Originally Posted by T.G

No, Castro made things worse for the people of Cuba. Not our embargo. They get travel dollars and sales from all over the world and have been for decades, yet most of the people of the country still live in poverty because of their totalitarian government.

Really? ALL of them? When did that happen?

Not in support of the Castro government in the least and I'm not trying to blame the embargo for all their problems but the embargo has not solved anything nor made anything better. I'm a through and through Libertarian and would love to see the people of Cuba free but us not trading with Cuba has not helped. It has simply made it more difficult for the people.

As for the ending of the authoritarian regimes, I meant to include the qualifier that the South American regimes have all ended and did not need the aid of a US embargo. Obviously Iran, N Korea, Bhutan, etc are still around...

[T.G]

Originally Posted by andpeo23

Not in support of the Castro government in the least and I'm not trying to blame the embargo for all their problems but the embargo has not solved anything nor made anything better. I'm a through and through Libertarian and would love to see the people of Cuba free but us not trading with Cuba has not helped. It has simply made it more difficult for the people.

I don't see free trade with Cuba benefiting anyone except us so long as their government continues to operate in a manner similar to how it has for the last few decades and then some. The general populace has not yet benefited from foreign money yet, how are they going to benefit from the US dollar?

Originally Posted by andpeo23

As for the ending of the authoritarian regimes, I meant to include the qualifier that the South American regimes have all ended and did not need the aid of a US embargo. Obviously Iran, N Korea, Bhutan, etc are still around...

Correlation does not equal causation. Because these countrie's governments changed without a full on embargo (note though that many have had trade sanctions leveled against them) does not mean that 1) that we had any major part in the occurrence 2) it would have worked in Cuba.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by T.G

The general populace has not yet benefited from foreign money yet, how are they going to benefit from the US dollar?

Adam,
It's an argument I have been posing for years.
Cuba is well visited as a vacation destination by many, many countries.
It is incredible to believe a few more tourists from the US will make a whole lot of difference.
Again, the Embargo has not worked but it is because of the Embargo that the Cuban people have not prospered. (that one truly deserved at least three rolleyes)
Seems clear as mud to me.