Restrictions On Restrictions

Cuba is not a place for economic freedom, or at least that’s the conclusion of the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, put together in a joint effort by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

Defining “economic freedom” as “the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property,” the annual index attempts to quantify the ease with which companies or individuals might live and do business in a particular country. Rated on a 100-point scale, researchers found that despite modest improvements to its financial infrastructure, Cuba still falls prey to its rampant corruption and centralized government, putting the country well behind  Iran, Venezuela, the DRC and Sierra Leone, among others. In fact, Cuba falls so low on the index that apart from the eight nations it doesn’t rank, the only state that ranks below the Central American island is North Korea, which scored a 1.3 compared to Cuba’s 29.6.

“The inconsistent and non-transparent application of regulations impedes the creation of new businesses,” the report read. “The rigid, state-controlled labor market has helped to create a large informal economy.”

Burdened by the yolk of overwhelming oversight, private entrepreneurship has floundered in Cuba. To limit fluctuations in capital and contain overall inflation, the Castro regime has long since taken a special interest in limiting the extent to which the free market operates in the country. Forging a relationship with the U.S. may help to loosen the stranglehold so that businesses might one day have the freedom to build and grow, but normalized relations are a dream for a later date.