Havana reeks of decay. Buildings, unpainted for decades, lend a 1950s air. The good news is that 80 percent to 90 percent of Cubans own their own apartment or house. Yet, from an economic standpoint, things are beginning to look up. The economy has been on the up-tick since 1994, with a latest gain of 5.6 percent in 2000.
Government policy is firmly rooted in a shift in production from goods to services.
The rest of the world is capitalizing on American petulance. And most of those dollars come from heavy-spending Europeans and Canadians. As a result, the U.S. dollar has been legalized with 50 percent to 70 percent of the economy projected to be dollar-driven within the next five years. Economically and politically, America is clearly on the losing end. U.S. investment in tourism, hotels, automobiles and consumer goods represents a shamefully lost opportunity.