Here, not all education is free, but if your income is low enough, you can get enough grants to pay for tuition to go to schools that are not very expensive. But the living expenses can be difficult. Many people take out student loans and are deeply in debt by the time they get their bachelors degrees.

In my own case, my tuition costs and books are paid for as well as some of my living expenses, but my health problems make it impossible for me to carry more than six credit hours at a time, and sometimes they prevent me from being in school altogether. So that's my catch 22. With more money, I could afford to get the help I need for my health problems, but I need to finish my schooling before I can get more money.

It sound to me like, for poor people at any rate, the US and Cuba come out about even in terms of getting basic needs met.