Quote:
Originally Posted by dizzybint
Shes living in her own wee world... just wish she would stay there... the EU would chase us and no wonder..
|
The problem is that the SNP are still playing grievance politics which allows them to avoid actually answering pertinent questions. Thus, when asked about the deficit and its impact on an independent Scotland joining the EU, their answer was to say that the UK had a 10% deficit in 2010. This response ignored three factors. The first was that the UK was already a member and that there is no mechanism for expelling one. The second was that the deficit was exceptional coming on the back of the global financial crisis. The third was that the deficit was one time and has since been substantially reduced.
As Ms. Sturgeon has, once again put an independence referendum firmly on the agenda, all the SNP have to do is give us some good answers to these (amongst other) questions and then we have a basis for a constructive discussion.
1. What will be the impact of the loss of Barnett fiscal transfers from rUK to Scotland (around £10 billion this year) on public revenue, taxation and services? This is even more important given the loss of fiscal revenue from oil. For reference, the fiscal deficit is £15 billion or around 9.7% of GDP.
2. What currency will Scotland use? A 'pound' with or without a monetary union? And if there is no monetary union, how will they maintain parity with the UK pound? And if they do not, does that mean a separate currency called the Scottish pound (as appears increasingly likely) and where will Scotland find the hard currency reserves to support it?
And will iScotland be required to adhere to the Euro? If so, how will iScotland achieve the criteria for accession and what do we use in the interim?
3. Assuming that Scotland moves to a 'Scottish Pound' (this option is getting increasing 'air time') which will not have the same value as the rUK pound, how will the Scottish Govt. manage the risk of massive capital flight due to the potential for loss of value?
4. If there is no UK/EU free trade agreement and iScotland joins the EU, how will tariffs on Scottish trade with rUK affect the Scottish economy given that trade with rUK is four times greater than trade with the EU? iScotland would be bound by EU rules and unable to forge a separate deal with rUK.
5. Under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, new entrants have to adhere to Schengen. That means a hard border and passport controls with England. Is the Scottish public ready for that?
6. What will be the cost of an iScotland becoming an EU member in terms of contributions to Brussels as well as the cost of setting up a 'hard border', etc. etc.?
7. What will be the additional costs of providing defence and funding for new government departments and embassies around the world?
8. How will iScotland deal with the loss of around 30,000 UK civil service jobs and threats to both the defence and financial services industries that independence would bring?
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
