Posts Tagged ‘economics’
Travel: Cab Drivers Earn More Than Doctors In Cuba (Mini-Documentary)
Yep. You read that title right: As far as earning potential goes, Cab Driver > Doctor (or Engineer, for that matter). Where they do that at? Cuba (read the title)! But you may also think to ask, ‘WHY and HOW does the societal value of driver work out to be higher than that of a degreed medical practitioner?’ Well, the above mini-documentary will explain. But bet that you will still find yourself saying ‘wowwww!’ Especially when you hear what an average Cuban earns in salary each month…
In Cuba, cab drivers are the one percent.
Cuba’s economy works as a central planning model, where government ministries dole out resources and set everything from prices to inventories to salaries. The fact that a taxi driver can make so much more than a physician is a reflection of the Cuban government’s heavy focus on tourism. For years, the central planning apparatus has valued tourism as a key mechanism for both bringing in revenue as well as propagating the idea that Cuba is thriving. Many pesos are collected by the high prices on everything related to the tourism industry.