[Marxism] GRANMA: Letters to the editor

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

  (GRANMA has begun a letters to the editor feature. 
  Here are two from today's edition of the paper and
  I must say I agree completely with the first one.
  Raul called for discussion and debate, insisting 
  that the best decisions are arrived at after full
  discussion of different viewpoints. And people are 
  responding to the call.)
==================================================

GRANMA
April 18, 2008

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Those Who Do Not Work Should Not Enjoy Equal Benefits

A revolutionary government such as Cuba's, that has done so much for
the people, committing millions of dollars in the annual budgets to
guaranteeing fundamental human rights such as healthcare and
education, can not enjoy the luxury of providing equal benefits to
those who bring nothing to the society as those who do.

There needs to be a direct relation between salary and work
productivity so that those workers who are more productive are
rewarded. Nevertheless, we must never lose sight of the importance of
principles because if we do, in the not too distance future, a time
will come when ideology disappears from the working class, cut off
from the construction of the new society where the human being is
placed as the most important factor.

When we think about economic sustainability, we cannot lose sight of
the fact that we are an economically blockaded country, but we also
must consider the fact that there are people who don't work or profit
illegally from the state and live better than honest citizens who
have given their whole lives to our socialist process.

What will the future of our economy be if all of those who work, make
sacrifices and contribute to the society, were able to live in the
same conditions of those who have dedicated their lives to living off
the sweat of others and love to criticize all the good and just
elements of our socialist system?

C. A. Martinez Rodríguez


We Can Not Continue to Make Errors in Agriculture

Due the overwhelming influences of climate and natural phenomenon,
agriculture is an activity that is intimately linked to specific
dates such as times for planting, cultivating, irrigating, etc.

Carrying out these activities on time is not possible under current
conditions in Cuba because resources do not arrive on time to the
producer, who cannot decide what or when to plant. An example of this
is potato farming. Right now, in Perico, the harvest is rotting
underground because it was planted a month late because the soil was
ploughed late and the early April rains have made it impossible to
harvest the crop. This represents a very costly crop both
economically and environmentally and to human health (don't forget
that for large crops in Cuba chemical fertilizers and pesticides are
used that are transferred in part to the consumer and to above and
underground waters, thus polluting our most valuable natural
resource). If the same resources used for potatoes were used in other
crops, we could produce some of the foods that are imported and sold
by the state at subsidized prices.

While it is true that potatoes is a crop that produces many calories
in a short time, they also require large sums of imported energy
(fertilizers, pesticides, fuels), which produces a net loss in
energy. If crops cannot be planted on time, it would be better to
grow something else. The majority of agricultural producers do not
want to grow potatoes, but they do not have the power to choose. How
long are we going to continue to make these errors?

H. Machado Martínez



________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: 
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40archives.econ.utah.edu