To Hell and Back Again

Returning from Cuba—the former jewel of the Caribbean—I can say without hesitation: “Socialism doesn’t work!”

It’s truly shocking to witness what six decades of socialism have done to a once-thriving nation. The grand, majestic buildings that once showcased Cuban pride now stand neglected and crumbling. State-of-the-art harbors, which once welcomed bustling trade, lie abandoned and filled with debris. Roads and railways, once the arteries of vibrant commerce, have fallen into disrepair. The impressive electrical grid and power stations that powered the island have deteriorated, leading to frequent blackouts and a fractured infrastructure. Even the famed sugar and tobacco farms, once the backbone of Cuba’s economy, have been left to wither.

It’s heartbreaking to see people who once enjoyed some of the best that life could offer now trapped in desperate conditions. The magnificent architecture, once a symbol of Cuban culture and history, is dilapidated, with facades crumbling and interiors rotting away. Harbors that once buzzed with activity are now ghostly, with terminals stripped of their roofs, doors, and windows, sealed off by electric fences and guarded by watchful sentries.

As you walk or drive through the streets, you navigate carefully to avoid piles of decaying garbage, human waste, and filth—testaments to a failed sanitation system. Lamp posts and utility boxes, once maintained and reliable, now hang exposed, their wiring visible and tangled, their covers long gone and often used as trash receptacles. This stark decay paints a grim picture of a nation left to fall apart under the weight of failed policies, serving as a powerful warning of socialism’s devastating consequences.

Schedule Appointment »

Speaking of those trash receptacles—a faint reminder of a once-glorious era of health and hygiene—they stand overflowing with garbage, without liners, and no practical way to remove the waste except by manually reaching in. Apparently, this grim chore hasn’t been done for quite some time.

Despite these harsh conditions, many of the people we met were friendly and kind-hearted. They openly expressed a deep affection for the United States, yet there was a noticeable lack of spirit and hope among them. And who could blame them? Many appeared resigned and subdued, sitting in broken-down doorways, wandering aimlessly through the streets, or laboring sporadically to clean up the overwhelming mess surrounding them.

Though Cuba offers free healthcare, food, wages, and education, this system falls tragically short in practice. Most people hold college degrees, yet these diplomas feel nearly worthless because the government strictly controls wages. Even highly educated professionals, like doctors, earn only about $60 a month, while housing alone costs around $100 monthly. This economic imbalance forces families to crowd into homes originally designed for a single household, turning shared spaces into common areas for cooking, eating, hanging laundry, and storing the few personal belongings they have—sparse as those are.

This glimpse into daily life reveals the heavy toll of an economic system that stifles opportunity, leaving many educated and hardworking people trapped in conditions far below their potential.

Cuban grocery stores have long lines, but there’s hardly anything on the shelves. People wait patiently to receive their rationed portions of meat, bread, butter, cheese, rice, and other basics. There’s literally no real shopping—just showing up with a ration card to get your allotted food, paid for with a special currency only Cubans can use. Meanwhile, all the money tourists spend in Cuba flows directly to the government, which can easily track it because tourists use a completely different currency than the locals. Of course, everyone still manages to get their bottle of rum and cigarettes—after all, the government knows it needs to keep the population pacified.

For anyone who genuinely believes socialism works, a week living as an ordinary Cuban—not as a government elite or tourist—should be mandatory. If that experience doesn’t change their mind, nothing will.

So how does a situation like Cuba’s happen? It happens because some people believe they know better than you how to run your life. They argue that it’s unfair for some to have plenty while others have very little. From that viewpoint, they insist that those with abundance should be forced to share what they have with those who have little or nothing. But as Cuba painfully shows, such forced equality often leads not to fairness or prosperity but to widespread scarcity and suffering.

While the idea of fairness and equal sharing sounds appealing and even idealistic, the reality of how the world actually functions is far more complex—and often less just. Throughout history, there have always been, and there always will be, individuals who claim they are more qualified to decide who should pay more taxes and who should be allowed to keep more of their earnings. Yet, time and again, these very same people never seem to hold themselves to the same standards. They rarely, if ever, willingly give up their own wealth or privileges in the name of redistribution. This reveals a harsh truth: although the concept of equal sharing might sound attractive in theory, the devil truly lies in the details. Human nature includes an undeniable element of greed, and those who control the system will almost always ensure they retain more than their fair share.

Many people have come to realize that socialism, despite its promises, simply doesn’t work in practice. This principle extends beyond governments and economies—it applies to areas like life insurance as well. In the world of insurance, it’s crucial to understand that certain agents and companies may aggressively promote specific types of policies or designs that expose you to greater financial risk, all because these options generate higher commissions and profits for them. In effect, they are collecting wealth from your hard-earned money and redistributing it to themselves rather than helping you use it to protect your values and future. This dynamic isn’t different from what has happened—and continues to happen—in countries like Cuba. It’s a sobering reminder that when control and incentives are misaligned, the system ceases to serve the people it was meant to help.

Eli Cohen once said, “Hell begins when you meet the person you could have been.” You might also say that a kind of hell is paid every time you are separated from your money—your hard-earned goods and services—not because of any choice you made, but simply because someone else decided you had more than your “fair share.” This forced parting of your resources can feel like a personal loss, a barrier to becoming the person you might otherwise have become.

You don’t need to experience a literal hell to understand the power of keeping and managing your own money. When you have control over your finances, you’re free to live according to the values you believe in and to make choices that truly reflect your priorities and dreams. In contrast, when your money, goods, or services are taken away—often without your input—it limits your ability to express yourself and build the life you want.

Ultimately, socialism doesn’t work for most people. It only benefits those who take on the role of deciding what is “fair” for you to keep and then proceed to confiscate and redistribute your wealth—to themselves or others—under the guise of fairness. This is true not only for government programs but also for areas like life insurance, where some systems or agents may take more than what is fair, leaving you with less control and fewer options. Understanding this reality is essential to protecting your prosperity and freedom.

Tomas P. McFie DC PhD

Tom McFie is the founder of McFie Insurance and co-host of the WealthTalks podcast which helps people keep more of the money they make, so they can have financial peace of mind. He has reviewed 1000s of whole life insurance policies and has practiced the Infinite Banking Concept for nearly 20 years, making him one of the foremost experts on achieving financial peace of mind. His latest book, A Biblical Guide to Personal Finance, can be purchased here.