But Aren't These Needed By The People? Cuban Soap Edition

One common argument I hear/read/encounter for the the "need" to continue Social Security, Medicare, etc. is that people need these things and can't get along without them (e.g. see comments under this post). They don't appear to understand that free markets and free people can accomplish the same tasks, almost always better and more efficiently.

Where's the outrage over the Cuban soap story? Surely, people will not be able to clean themselves properly without subsidized soap? (pic via Colgate)

As an aside, I would like to see the U.S. government end the (imho) immoral and counterproductive embargo on Cuba.

My Way News - Cuba slashes state-subsidised soap: "HAVANA (AP) - The cost of cleanliness will rise in Cuba after its cash-strapped, communist government announced Wednesday that soap, toothpaste and detergent will be slashed from monthly ration books. Cuba's official Gazette said that effective Jan. 1, 'personal cleanliness products' will join a growing list of products cut from the ration books that islanders have come to rely on for a small but steady supply of basic goods. Cubans currently pay about 25 centavos, or about a penny, for a rationed bar of soap. They'll soon have to fork out four to six pesos, according to the gazette. ... Authorities say the cuts are necessary to free the state - which pays for or heavily subsidizes education, health care, housing and transportation - from a crushing economic burden. Other, more drastic cost-cutting measures have also been announced, including the layoffs of about half a million state workers. Critics contend that by slashing the ration books, the state is breaking with what has been a sacred covenant of the island's 1959 revolution: to provide all Cubans with at least the basics."