Maryland abolishes death penalty.

[kandrathe]

What about (and I Wikipedia'd this) a lower infant mortality number than the USA, or the third highest life expectancy of the America's.

Correlation <> causality.

I've argued before that US infant mortality is tied to factors where the US also leads, such as drug use, and lower age of pregnancies. So, on the further end of the freedom scale, we suffer in the US from an unhealthy excess of liberty. And, try to get a teen to do anything. Really. “Teenage mothers in the U.S. tend to be poorer, less educated, and receive less prenatal care than older mothers. Because of these challenges, babies born to teen mothers are more likely to be low-birthweight and be born prematurely and to die in their first month. They are also more likely to suffer chronic medical conditions, do poorly in school, and give birth during their teen years (continuing the cycle of teen pregnancy),” Report

Second, some of their health strategies for infectious disease would not be acceptable within non-dictatorships. A lengthy stay at the sanitorium is still required, but since 1994, the rules on life long imprisonment of infectious disease carriers have been eased. Cuba also has compulsory treatment -- where the patient really has little control over their own treatment.

Third, there is evidence that "honesty" is not the party line policy in Cuban death certificates when it makes the state look bad for untreated disease. Doctors are sometimes coerced by the government to report falsely.

Fourth, the US is not monolithic. We are a collection of regional differences, punctuated by variations in State governmental law. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db120.htm

Lastly, social equality and equal access to healthcare is what the socialist revolution brought to Cuba. In that regard, it was a success compared to other nations in the area.

I know you can get more brands of cola when you visit the Bahama's or that it is easier to store your money on the Cayman's.

It is not quite as trite. Less opportunity also has a darker side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Cuba