If We Could All Vote - Would the Scotland Vote Be As Close?

[atinabay]

Salmond has cleverly whipped up the majority of yes voters (note..majority..not all) into a fighting frenzy where they actually believe that a no voter is not a true Scot and indeed a traitor. I have witnessed this in various parts of Scotland first hand. Indeed some of my friends have discussed the referendum in a manner suggesting that I would be letting Scotland down and that the English would win..... Ehm, I didn't realise we had gone to war with anyone, although when you look at some of these videos, that's what it looks like...I am now becoming less and less tolerant to  this attitude.  A YES vote is NOT a display of National loyalty.. It is just a choice that a Scot has made just like another Scot has chosen NO.   Neither  Scot is wrong!... We have all of us said at some time, "Don't trust what politicians say".  So why do some people blindly believe what Alex says........ I just don't hear any straight answers from him as to HOW exactly things are going to be better and HOW we are going to be able to use the pound.....And  what of the no campaign? Well, we are living in it now so we know what to  expect. (to digress, theres mention of the dollar being used by other countries....... NOT SO... The name is being used.  Yes, a North Korean Dollar, but you need 900 of them to make a USD. . How much will our pound actually be worth outside of Scotland?  Oh, do some people believe that our pound is going to be worth the same as the rest of the UKs?  Lets face it. Turkey won't even accept it now, what chance is there on Independence?  We will have to exchange for British notes. Will it be a straight swap? No fees? ) Forget about politics and lets look at Scotland as it is now... I travel Scotland daily on a professional basis and have done so for the past 20 years.. I have seen incredible changes. Housing here is amazing with new estates being built EVERYWHERE!.. Council housing has dramatically improved. Slums are a thing of the past.  There still are, but very very few still left, in comparison to years ago. Glasgow has gotten rid of most of its Tenement buildings of the past and there are virtually no high rise flats left... There are mostly NEW vehicles on the road with young drivers like never before, owning new cars... One of our bus services has just built a multi million pound complex (FIRST buses) with a BRAND NEW fleet of hundreds of buses... Shopping centres are being built virtually on top of each other, they are so close... Supermarkets are being built so that you cannot travel any longer than ten minutes till you get to the next one.. We have our free prescriptions and new Health Centres also being built everywhere.... Children's Nurseries  are constantly on the increase with places not easy to get... We need even more... Police drive around in upmarket cars BMW VOLVO MERCEDES... Coffee shops and takeaways are consistently opening up.  Costa Coffee, McDonalds, Tesco Express, Asian mini markets, these guys are opening new places every day. Friend of mine bought a house 20 yrs ago and rented it out. He now has 248, all rented. Private rental in Scotland has soared through the roof due to 'buy to let' mortgages... The restaurants in Glasgow and Edinburgh are heaving (the good ones anyway).... Check out the car sales showrooms of new and used cars. massive complexes. . astonishing.. Industrial estates are being built with the emphases on smaller units to accommodate young entrepreneurs. ..There are barbers and hair salons dotted everywhere. (I've had two for years and I'm still shocked at what my clients spend on themselves regularly and they come from ALL walks of life.)..... SO, WHAT ON EARTH IS IT THATS GOING TO MAKE SCOTLAND BETTER ?... Beware of the greed factor here people, and of a fiercely ambitious politician who has wanted to be the king of Scotland for as long as I remember................ PS.  I would be willing to spend a day with any non believer of what I've put down and drive them around Scotland and they can show me where exactly there is need for improvement.....Did it with one friend. Opened his eyes. .We are almost autonomous up here.  ........... YES/NO vote ?... My motto has always been, "If its not broken, don't try to fix it".

[atinabay]

In my last post I mentioned the ' North Korean Dollar's value against the USD.  Dont know what I was thinking about.  Please replace with The Hong Kong Dollar needed as 7 for 1 USD..Jamaican dollar etc...... My point's still the same though.

[kevin3]

A really good post atinbay and I totally agree about Salmond.

He's always struck me as false, shallow and self. As does his sidekick.    Bonnie & Clyde.

[Jack13]

great post atinbay. agree with all your points. as for salmond the least said the better.

[apollo]

What About the Currency Union?

The way I see it is this; a) Any country can use another countries currency, ie Turkey uses The Pound Sterling, most of the world uses the US dollar
b)A country can name is currency as whatever it wants however an Egyptian, Syrian or Lebanese pound is not a pound sterling. And the Aussie dollar is not a US dollar.
c)Currency union is possible providing that both parties agree to the terms and conditions. The Euro being an obvious example.
d)The argument that there is already a currency union between Scotland, England and Wales belies the fact that in reality , with the exception of sport, they have been considered for a couple of centuries or so as regions of the same country "The United Kingdom"

My question is, why would a country which has fought so hard to become independent want their Fiscal arrangements controlled by the country from which they have just seperated?

Advantages of  Dollarization
Many advantages occur when a country adopts a foreign currency. The new currency helps stabilize the economy, which sometimes eases political crises. This credibility and predictability promotes foreign investment. The new currency helps lower inflation and interest rates and eliminates conversion fees and the risk of devaluation.

Disadvantages of Dollarization
If a country adopts a foreign currency, the national central bank no longer exists. The country can no longer control its own monetary policy or aid the economy in case of emergency. It can no longer collect seigniorage, which is a profit gained because the cost to produce money is usually less than its value. Under dollarization, seigniorage is earned by the foreign country. Many believe that dollarization symbolizes foreign control and causes dependency. National currencies are a source of great pride for citizens, and some are very reluctant to give up the symbol of their country's sovereignty. Dollarization does not solve all economic or political problems, and countries can still default on debt or maintain low living standards.

[Colwyn]

In my last post I mentioned the ' North Korean Dollar's value against the USD.  Dont know what I was thinking about.  Please replace with The Hong Kong Dollar needed as 7 for 1 USD..Jamaican dollar etc...... My point's still the same though.

Not quite the same point. HK can call its own currency what it likes. NK uses US$ and the name is written on them - THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ... ONE DOLLAR. In NK one US$= one US$ - amazing eh? Along with this writing there is a little prayer "In God We Trust" {at least it did when I last saw one which was a while ago}. I don't know what atheist NK makes of this.

[teetee]

A Short Book on Scotland's Decision.

An interesting read, giving informed information and not expressing the contributors own views but dealing with available current and past information and statistic. It is based on only 16 questions which most people would like sufficient proper and balanced information to be able to understand and form an opinion on.

Although I have not been able to read in its entirety I think it gives a view which is most insightful and does not look to persuade the reader towards either Yes or No and gives plenty of scope to think about many aspects of this coming decision for all those interested.

http://scotlandseptember18.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Scotlands_Decision.pdf
 

[atinabay]

In my last post I mentioned the ' North Korean Dollar's value against the USD.  Dont know what I was thinking about.  Please replace with The Hong Kong Dollar needed as 7 for 1 USD..Jamaican dollar etc...... My point's still the same though.

Not quite the same point. HK can call its own currency what it likes. NK uses US$ and the name is written on them - THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ... ONE DOLLAR. In NK one US$= one US$ - amazing eh? Along with this writing there is a little prayer "In God We Trust" {at least it did when I last saw one which was a while ago}. I don't know what atheist NK makes of this.

Just meant that they can call it a Dollar but its not the same value as the USD :-)..

[Colwyn]

And I just meant they {North Koreans} call it a US dollar because it is a US dollar and hence of the same value as any other US dollar.


The BBC reported in 2009 that in some department stores in Pyongyang, the North Korean won is not accepted; and the stores only take Chinese Yuan and U.S. dollars. As of April 2013, most stores in North Korea take Euros
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_won#Other_currency_used

[atinabay]

A Short Book on Scotland's Decision.

An interesting read, giving informed information and not expressing the contributors own views but dealing with available current and past information and statistic. It is based on only 16 questions which most people would like sufficient proper and balanced information to be able to understand and form an opinion on.

Although I have not been able to read in its entirety I think it gives a view which is most insightful and does not look to persuade the reader towards either Yes or No and gives plenty of scope to think about many aspects of this coming decision for all those interested.

http://scotlandseptember18.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Scotlands_Decision.pdf
 

OKAY! So you care about Scotland and you are about to vote and make a decision that IS going to change your life.... Go out buy yourself a nice wine (or whatever your tipple is) and give yourself a couple of hours to read TEETEE's link. After all, it is probably one of the most important decisions of your life. I found it unbiased and informative and will probably give answers to the UNDECIDED voter and may change your vote . Whichever way you were going to vote.  I have read half of it so far and had to take a break.( I ran out of wine)............... Great find TEETEE.