I Disagree With LVCC Blog Post

LVCC Guest Writer--"I recently attended a seminar of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of NJ on “Doing Business in Cuba.”... A Jersey-based Cuban-American developer asked a critical question: what assurances can you give me that my investment will be protected?

... For all the excitement and diplomatic breakthroughs, the change in US-Cuba relations is still a long way from materializing into the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow some predict. As an international business lawyer and arbitrator, I remain cautious..."
What I Have A Problem With
Anyone who's spent a small fortune to visit some of the Caribbean islands may be as disappointed as we were with some of them. Why should anyone wish to step ashore and find a bunch of Burger Kings, Pizza Huts, Walmarts and K-Marts much like where we left from?

That's exactly what happened at several of these cruise ships port of calls to us. We might as well have rented a row boat. Cross the Delaware and visited New Jersey. Cuba tourism has picked up greatly by visitors from other countries in recent days. The reason being cited they wanted to enjoy the Cuban culture before the United States mucks it up.

It's bad enough the hand carved turtles and island knick knacks sold by local vender tents had items imported from China, but at least it gave the illusion, eh?

I suggest stateside businesses be content with selling supplies and other various items to current & future business owners in Cuba. Let them at least have the pretense Cuba remains unique and separate in it's culture. I don't need no damn Starbucks coffee shop. Let Cuban shop owners brew their own. I'd rather enjoy a poor Cuban Taxi driver eking out a living bobbing around in a 50's Chevy then reserve ahead having him to share his profits with Uber. I don't need to have an American casino operator once again exploiting the Cuban peoples.

If this is what is intended I hope Ruel Castro will have enough sense to tell American investors to go pound sand. Cuba was once the United States playground. Let's not turn Cubans back into American owned business employees. If that's the goal of the Chamber I hope they will be forever disappointed if they never find the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow".


I WOULDN'T WANT TO CHANGE A DAMN THING!