• Scottish referendum will be held on 18 September 2014, Alex Salmond announces
    38 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Dr. Ethan Asia;39997541]It's more the concerns they'll have to face without the rest of the UK. I very much doubt any pro-independence votes will have considered the economic implications - it'll mostly be misguided nationalism and an attempt to spite the BASTARD ENGLISH.[/QUOTE] That seem's like an unfair generalisation, not all the Nationalist Scot's hate the English and not all the Nationalists are ignorant of the economy. Also the main problem Scotland is going to face if they leave the Union is there pension.
please leave
It's not exactly a big country, has a small population, I don't see why Scotland couldn't support itself on a mixture high tech/education industry and sustainable local farming and fishing. It's not exactly an "economic powerhouse" situation, but Scotland has never been a rich place, the recent economic boom is not sustainable and staying in the union isn't necessarily going to fix that.
We're gonna be pretty fucked if this passes. Quite a lot of people I know support this with no valid reason other than stupid over the top patriotism, good thing most of them are under 18 though.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;40002127]It's not exactly a big country, has a small population, I don't see why Scotland couldn't support itself on a mixture high tech/education industry and sustainable local farming and fishing. It's not exactly an "economic powerhouse" situation, but Scotland has never been a rich place, the recent economic boom is not sustainable and staying in the union isn't necessarily going to fix that.[/QUOTE] Worked for Ireland.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;40002127]It's not exactly a big country, has a small population, I don't see why Scotland couldn't support itself on a mixture high tech/education industry and sustainable local farming and fishing. It's not exactly an "economic powerhouse" situation, but Scotland has never been a rich place, the recent economic boom is not sustainable and staying in the union isn't necessarily going to fix that.[/QUOTE] It actually used to be a very industrious place from the late 18th through early 20th centuries. It started to stagnate (along with the rest of British industry mind you) in the early 20th century. [editline]22nd March 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Superkilll307;40002179]Worked for Ireland.[/QUOTE] Not really. Ireland was a poor country that had a weak economy until the end of the 20th century, so much so to the extent that people kept emigrating even after independence.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40002219]It actually used to be a very industrious place from the late 18th through early 20th centuries. It started to stagnate (along with the rest of British industry mind you) in the early 20th century. [editline]22nd March 2013[/editline] Not really. Ireland was a poor country that had a weak economy until the end of the 20th century, so much so to the extent that people kept emigrating even after independence.[/QUOTE] It was in a Growing stage. The economy couldn't sprout up from a battered country into an economic powerhouse overnight. Ireland also had to pay back money to Britain, and the educational system for the majority of the people was a mess after independence. Oh that and the fact that up until the 50's and 70's the Irish Government favoured a tactic of protectionism instead of free trade, In theory Scotland wont have to deal with that.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40002219]It actually used to be a very industrious place from the late 18th through early 20th centuries. It started to stagnate (along with the rest of British industry mind you) in the early 20th century. [/QUOTE] That's what I meant when I said "sustainable" While industrialization opened up a few temporary small windows, the harsh climate and geography of the majority of Scotland is essentially going to restrict it's longterm prospects, that's why there's been numerous mass depopulation in the last 200 years. The climate is too volatile and fragile to be permanently sustainable for a huge GDP. It is not an ideal candidate to be a large, longterm economic powerhouse. It has a very poor farming climate with almost no arable land, even the grazing territory is harsh and limited. Once the exploitable and finite natural resources are gone there'll be no choice but to go back to living more modestly. Scotland doesn't have the geography or population density to be an economic powerhouse, however it does have the geography and population density to be a small, well managed country with a good standard of living.. assuming the government plays it's cards right. The economic infrastructure of the country will probably need to shift gears, though.
[QUOTE=Kendra;39991740]Yes but, lets take Spain. The Catalonian people could vote for independence, yet Spain as a government isn't allowing Catalonia to become independent. Could the UK do the same to Scotland?[/QUOTE] Britain has this thing called 'Parliamentary Supremacy'. From the wording itself, you can assume that the Parliament is boss. So yeah, Westminster can just say 'fuck off' to Scotland even if they vote yes or to whatever referendum they put up. But then there are some drawbacks to this, obviously.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.