No Tips Allowed

Castro has outlawed gratuities in Cuba, the major source of income for people who work in the tourist industry. When in Cuba, you will be often served by doctors and engineers; people who cannot make enough to feed their families doing what Cuban training centers (one should not call those institutions universities) have given them. So, they resort to pouring drinks, driving tourist buses, waiting on tables and making beds. A waiter would make three times the monthly salary of doctor in one day. But not any more.

The new measure will have an impact on the people who serve tourists since it is likely that the doctors will have to go back to state clinics, and the engineers to work for the army. Waiters will again be less educated than the average German and Canadian they serve.

Cuba's "opening" may be coming to a stop, or the banning of tips may even signal a return to the Stalinist old ways of Castro. Interestingly, the announcement comes after the EU has relaxed its trade restrictions, having judged that Cuba's human rights situation has improved. Doctors should be doctors. Anything else is a violation of their human rights, right?

Paul Martin's budget this week will leave Canadians with about $16-34 more dollars a year in their pockets --next year. The higher figure is about the equivalent of three months salary for a Cuban doctor. Puts into perspective Mr. Dithers' largesse, does it not?