Raul Castro claims better relations with U.S. won't change Cuban system...

Somebody tell me why we are doing this again.

HAVANA (AP) - Cuban President Raul Castro sent a blunt message to Washington Saturday as the White House works to reverse a half-century of hostility between the U.S. and Cuba: Don't expect detente to do away with the communist system.
Castro's speech to Cuba's National Assembly was a sharp counterpoint to the message U.S. President Barack Obama gave in his year-end news conference the day before. Obama reiterated that by engaging directly with the Cuban people, Americans are more likely to encourage reform in Cuba's one-party system and centrally planned economy.
"We must not expect that in order for relations with the United States to improve, Cuba will abandon the ideas that it has struggled for," Castro said.

Socialism has failed and Cuba is moving towards more free enterprise

Socialism has failed and Cuba is moving towards more free enterprise. Cuban President Raul Castro has decided to layoff a half a million workers and allow more free enterprise in an effort to boost productivity. Low productivity has always been the bane of socialist societies. People will always work harder if they are working for themselves instead of the government. Ironically, Cuban President Raul Castro claims these moves are strengthening socialism.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban President Raul Castro told legislators Saturday that the future of the country’s revolution is at stake as the government tries to institute sweeping economic reforms, adding that the changes are meant to strengthen socialism — not replace it.
Cuba has announced it will lay off a half-million workers from bloated state-run enterprises, while simultaneously allowing more free enterprise. It has also begun to scale back many of the subsidies Cubans have come to rely on to compensate for salaries that average just $20 a month.