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[Page H3480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENRIQUE PADRON OP-ED REGARDING CUBAN SOCIALISM DANGERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, socialist Democrats advocate
dictatorial and guaranteed-to-fail socialism over liberty and the free
enterprise economic system that has created America's prosperity.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ``evil'' as ``morally
reprehensible,'' ``causing harm,'' or ``pernicious.'' By that
definition, socialism is evil, and anyone in America who supports
socialism supports evil.
Enrique Padron recently published an editorial in the New York Post
entitled: ``Hey, Democrats: Here's the price I paid for your Socialist
dream.'' It is such a revealing test of the evils of socialism that
today I read it in part into the Congressional Record:
``American Democrats are pining ever more loudly for socialism these
days, for `free' education, `free' health care and much else.
``Let me tell you about socialism as I lived it under the Fidel
Castro regime.
``The house where I was born in Communist Cuba had a dirt floor, a
bathroom hole in the ground, which we shared with six other families,
and a zinc roof that left us unbearably hot in the summer and shivering
in the winter.
``We had no running water, no refrigerator and no door in the back of
the house. We cooked with charcoal. My mother raised four boys by
herself in that `house,' working 12 hours a day to earn 160 Cuban
pesos, or approximately $6, a month.
``Why didn't we fix it?
``In addition to the meager income, we had no access to hardware
stores to buy nails or cement to fix our humble house. In fact, the
local member of the national assembly was the only person authorized to
approve whether we could buy a bag of cement or a roll of roof paper--
if they were available.
``We couldn't buy these simple materials without that precious piece
of paper.
``Can you imagine going to your congressional Representative to ask
for permission to buy a box of nails? Or roof tiles? Or roof paper? It
seems unthinkable in the United States. But in Cuba, where we lacked
the necessities of life, we had to. And when we complained, the
authorities scolded us to be grateful for free education and free
healthcare.
``In Cuba, it is illegal to speak against the government or complain
about living conditions. We were prohibited from speaking with local
media, but the journalists were state employees and wouldn't publish
our stories anyway. We couldn't express our unmet needs and were
reminded that we shouldn't complain anyway, because we were promised--
you guessed it--free education and free healthcare.
``In Cuba, doctors make the equivalent of 25 cents an hour and
teachers 21 cents an hour. Pharmacists earn eight cents an hour.
``In Cuba, there is no right to free speech and virtually no
independent media. There are no free, fair, multiparty elections. In
fact, there is just one political party, Communist, and only members of
the Communist Party may run as candidates for any office. But we were
told we couldn't object to this system, lest we lose our free education
and free healthcare. . . .
``In Cuba, if you dare to yell something true, like `Fidel and Raul
are dictators,' you could spend many years in prison. Dictatorship is
another price we had to pay for free education and free healthcare.
``I desperately needed something more than the promises of free
education and free healthcare. I knew that I needed freedom--freedom to
speak my mind and vote my conscience. It was worth the risk of being
eaten by sharks than to continue living a life with no purpose and no
freedom.
``On August 16, 1994, I decided to get into a boat with 20 other
Cubans in search of a future.
``One of my two brothers followed me to the United States, also in a
raft, nearly dying of thirst and hunger during the journey. My other
brother is still awaiting the visa I filed for
him. . . .
``After arriving in the United States, I worked as an international
sales manager, owned a restaurant, hosted a radio program and authored
two books. Today, I work for a Member of Congress. None of those
opportunities would have been possible for me in socialist Cuba.
``I wish that one day I might have a conversation with some of these
young American socialists who have no experience with actually existing
socialism. They like to think they can have democracy and a socialist
economy. But everywhere it's been implemented, public ownership of the
means of production has led to political repression.
``Not least in my native Cuba, with its promises of `free' cradle-to-
grave services.
``I chose so much more than the promise of `free.' I chose freedom.''
Mr. Speaker, Enrique Padron has shared his firsthand experience with
the suffering, depravity, and evils of socialism in Cuba. Americans
should heed his words.
Free enterprise is about liberty and freedom. Socialism is about
poverty and slavery through the ruling class.
____________________