Interesting analysis Callum. Of course, nothing is possible until after independence/ decolonization - political, economic and cultural.
My comparision of Scottish GDP-per-capita with our near neighbour states, most with less resources than us, suggests the UK Union 'colonial corset' is costing Scots at least £150 billion per annum:
On the matter of competitiveness and (lack of) economic growth, the possibility of very low energy costs in Scotland as opposed to the highest in Europe should be a key factor, as well as the ability to invoice for our stolen energy production:
As you observe, Scottish GDP per person isn't dramatically different from that of the entire UK. However, the opportunity is that Scotland is significantly less developed. Build a new port and motorway in the South of England and the GDP uplift would be marginal. Fully dual the A road network in Scotland; get four lanes on the M6, build new ports everywhere and GDP in Scotland could start pulling closer to our neighbours.
You’re banging the wrong drum. There can be no black hole in a fiat currency issuing state like the UK. National debt is not a problem per se. Remember that the UK created the NHS from scratch whilst its public finances were still reeling from WW2, AND we were still on the gold standard. There £ is no longer tied to the gold standard, so there is more freedom to spend within the limits of the UK’s resources. Might be good to research the work of Stephanie Kelton, Scotonomics, and how MMT describes public finances and fiscal policy for more information on this subject.
QE was a form of MMT that was mismanaged by the BoE. They lost the treasury £100bn on the experiment, failed to raise interest rates quickly enough and generated soaring inflation.
There’s a place for it in an emergency like a pandemic but we don’t have the institutions capable of managing it…perhaps an independent Bank of Scotland would do a better job.
It wasn’t the QE per se that caused the inflation, it was where the money ended up: it ended up in the hands of the already wealthy, causing asset bubble/inflation. QE is not MMT BTW. MMT is simply a lens through which we can view and analyse public finances and fiscal policy. QE that is used to fund public spending on infrastructure and services within the real resources available in an economy makes perfect sense and doesn’t come with the same risk of a run on inflation. I urge you to check out Kelton’s book or the Finding The Money film. Both will explain MMT in more detail.
Interesting analysis Callum. Of course, nothing is possible until after independence/ decolonization - political, economic and cultural.
My comparision of Scottish GDP-per-capita with our near neighbour states, most with less resources than us, suggests the UK Union 'colonial corset' is costing Scots at least £150 billion per annum:
https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/03/19/the-real-economic-price-of-the-uk-union-for-scots/
On the matter of competitiveness and (lack of) economic growth, the possibility of very low energy costs in Scotland as opposed to the highest in Europe should be a key factor, as well as the ability to invoice for our stolen energy production:
https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/04/18/the-realities-of-an-energy-rich-scotland-plundered-under-colonial-rule/
Thanks Alf, good to hear from you.
As you observe, Scottish GDP per person isn't dramatically different from that of the entire UK. However, the opportunity is that Scotland is significantly less developed. Build a new port and motorway in the South of England and the GDP uplift would be marginal. Fully dual the A road network in Scotland; get four lanes on the M6, build new ports everywhere and GDP in Scotland could start pulling closer to our neighbours.
You’re banging the wrong drum. There can be no black hole in a fiat currency issuing state like the UK. National debt is not a problem per se. Remember that the UK created the NHS from scratch whilst its public finances were still reeling from WW2, AND we were still on the gold standard. There £ is no longer tied to the gold standard, so there is more freedom to spend within the limits of the UK’s resources. Might be good to research the work of Stephanie Kelton, Scotonomics, and how MMT describes public finances and fiscal policy for more information on this subject.
QE was a form of MMT that was mismanaged by the BoE. They lost the treasury £100bn on the experiment, failed to raise interest rates quickly enough and generated soaring inflation.
There’s a place for it in an emergency like a pandemic but we don’t have the institutions capable of managing it…perhaps an independent Bank of Scotland would do a better job.
It wasn’t the QE per se that caused the inflation, it was where the money ended up: it ended up in the hands of the already wealthy, causing asset bubble/inflation. QE is not MMT BTW. MMT is simply a lens through which we can view and analyse public finances and fiscal policy. QE that is used to fund public spending on infrastructure and services within the real resources available in an economy makes perfect sense and doesn’t come with the same risk of a run on inflation. I urge you to check out Kelton’s book or the Finding The Money film. Both will explain MMT in more detail.