Economic Argument For Independence "is Deluded"

[Haggis_trap]

^ There needs to be a case that Scotland could afford to be a viable independent nation.

If you at the numbers this is beyond debate (the secondary debate is would / could we better off)

IMHO people need to be aware that a YES vote isn't a vote to live in an SNP utopia state forever more.

It is a vote for Scotland to get the government we elect. Scotlands future in Scotlands hands.
As you say there is certainly a noble argument that needs to be made that Scotland is a "nation".

Edited November 18, 2015 by Haggis_trap

[Toepoke]

Although I'm pretty sure Salmond himself said he wouldn't support independence if he thought Scotland would be worse off...

[Orraloon]

Although I'm pretty sure Salmond himself said he wouldn't support independence if he thought Scotland would be worse off...

Would you expect him to say anything else?

[Squirrelhumper]

I still cant believe we have 53 SNP MP.

Neither can I, we have 56.

[Jacobite]

It doesn't matter how bad things get,how many folk use food banks,how many have their benefits cut and even how much lottery money is nicked we would still be told it would have been much much worse if we had voted YES.

Who knows we might have surprised everyone and been able to sort the mess out ourselves.

[scotlad]

Havering again Alan

There was no land of chocolate promised, only a land better than we have .

The cost of setting a new state are un costable. and the estimate was from the UK treasury, those were the figures used.

the white paper was A guide to the future, not the guide, a significant difference that u cant grasp.

Scotland gdp without oil is 99% of the UK's GDP, ie 1% below, Oil took us to 107% at the time , prob 100% at the mo.

The pound IS our currency, we could use it, we could use any currency, no one can stop us,the un truths all came from Westminster.

Debt, Interest rates and Lender were all to be negotiated, the YES side thought that the other side would be reasonable, the NO side presumed the other side would be tyrants and be absolutely brutal . History shows that there would have been give and take, Scotland was/is in a strong position, as was the RUK., You were taken in by the scares because you think Scotland has nothing to offer,.

Much of the apparatus needed to be an independent state was already in place pre-referendum, which is why when you see large HMRC offices being closed in Scotland it smacks to me of asset stripping.

In fairness to Bell I don't think he is arguing that Scotland couldn't afford to be independent, just that blueprint put forward by the SNP was flawed. To be honest, I don't entirely disagree: higher public spending with no increase in taxation sounds too good to be true and gave people the impression they didn't know what they were talking about.

^ There needs to be a case that Scotland could afford to be a viable independent nation.

If you at the numbers this is beyond debate (the secondary debate is would / could we better off)

IMHO people need to be aware that a YES vote isn't a vote to live in an SNP utopia state forever more.

It is a vote for Scotland to get the government we elect. Scotlands future in Scotlands hands.

As you say there is certainly a noble argument that needs to be made that Scotland is a "nation".

For me, I was more excited about the 'blank canvass' presented by independence than anything else; the chance for us to take full control of our destiny. It is a huge pity more people couldn't see the bigger picture.

[Auld_Reekie]

Good points scotlad.

If we really must be timid on initial policy, we could at least flesh out major stuff more formally. Written constitution, elected second chamber, formal commitment to extracting royal family from any constitution, etc, etc. They could do a lot worse than start from a pessimistic economic projection and work back to what might be possible with it. If we can't find an economic model that works using pessimistic projections, some difficult decision need to made. SNP have got to where they are today through competence - that needs to continue through to independence. The next referendum needs a more concrete and tested proposition.