Scott7 5,135 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Who exactly are "they" who don't allow us to spend the money we earn? I know that it's posh public school boys at present but was it not Gordon Brown not so long ago? And was he not in office partly because of a phalanx of Scottish MPs? Any news of that pesky disappearing arc by the way? Am I an oppressed, hard-done-by feartie? Naw so the vote's naw as well. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinker 851 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 It's actually the polar opposite mate. Compare the performances of all the European nations of our size who can manage their economic levers much more flexibly than the lumbering, centralised, large state economies like UK, France or Italy who have to adopt a one-size fits all approach. Being part of a large diverse ecomy is certainly a good thing and thankfully, we are already part of the EU. Quite how long that will remain the case when the right wing in England get their way and pull the UK into isolationist irrelevance remains to be seen. What I meant by the section you highlighted is that if a nation relies heavily on a particular source for a big chunk of its revenue (e.g. financial services or fossil fuel production) then any disruption to that industry will have a massive negative effect on that nation. Yes, the EU's economy is diverse, but an independent Scotland's (like many small nations) wouldn't be. The EU doesn't provide us with alternative sources of revenue to see us through a crisis. The right wing is gathering strength in certain parts of England (or, to put it another way, certain parts of the wider UK) and it's not so strong in others. A nation of this size is diverse politically as well as economically. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangersitis 0 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Quite. You were trumpeting their ability to not get into a financial mess because they were small, independent countries, while failing to mention the reasons why. Yes, Danish banks got hammered and the point is that the country, far from going under because of it, enjoys a GDP significantly higher than the UK, so claims that the failure of RBS (even if an independent Scotland had allowed it to get to that point, which is debatable) would not have ruined the country. That's true of the GDP per capita, but in the latest figures released, Denmark's annual growth rate was 1.45 compared to 3.1 in the UK. Recovery is what is important to the man in the street. The Austrian Central bank released a statement today saying "Austrian banks' exposure to emerging Europe is generally positive so they do not need to consider exiting the region ". Talk about timing. The timing is impeccable. They have sought to stabilise things after Erste Bank, the country's largest, revealed that their had been a 40% miscalculation on bad debts which would lead to losses of 2bn euros this year, plus the recent downgrade from Moody's due to new laws introduced by the government. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancornetto 1 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Who exactly are "they" who don't allow us to spend the money we earn? I know that it's posh public school boys at present but was it not Gordon Brown not so long ago? And was he not in office partly because of a phalanx of Scottish MPs? Any news of that pesky disappearing arc by the way? Am I an oppressed, hard-done-by feartie? Naw so the vote's naw as well. "They" are the ministers and MP's who've led us from boom to bust financially, who've grossly mismanaged immigration, housing and social welfare, who've led our sons and brothers to their deaths in the thousands in pointless wars and who are now desperately trying to dig us out of a consumer debt crisis by making cuts to public spending and raising the interest rate. That's what we'd have to look forward to and the best you can do is cry defiance and ask for more of the same? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7 5,135 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 A couple of years ago the SNP defence spokesman affirmed that they would keep a Scottish battalion in Afghanistan and send another one to the Sudan plus keep two NATO standard airfields in the north east of Scotland (but no nuclear weapons, of course - somebody else can do the umbrella defence) You are quite right. Politicians have made a horlicks of things. I'm just not convinced that Scots politicians are any better just because they are Scots Anyway, I'm here for the Rangers. Admin should close this topic or reduce it to the lounge or even better ban politics. I hold up my hand. I'm one of the worst offenders. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I would like to take our name away from a list of clubs that has next to nothing to do with the way we support our club. I'd refrain from painting our whole support in similar colours like some of the hardcore loonballs supporting those clubs, who will have normal football supporting people too. It's a bit like telling the world that our whole support thinks and breathes the way like those "hardened souls" at Brora yesterday, who entertained the audience with some dire singsongs throughout the match. More embarrassing than watching the game - not exactly the songs as such, but the way it was done. what is this? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real PapaBear 0 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 What I meant by the section you highlighted is that if a nation relies heavily on a particular source for a big chunk of its revenue (e.g. financial services or fossil fuel production) then any disruption to that industry will have a massive negative effect on that nation. Equally, any growth in that market will benefit the country - or do you think the price of oil and gas will fall as it gets scarcer? Yes, the EU's economy is diverse, but an independent Scotland's (like many small nations) wouldn't be. The EU doesn't provide us with alternative sources of revenue to see us through a crisis. food and drink industry creative industries life sciences oil and gas industry, renewable energy industry tourism industry manufacturing industry agriculture forestry universities and education Looks pretty diverse to me 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real PapaBear 0 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Anyway, I'm here for the Rangers. Admin should close this topic or reduce it to the lounge or even better ban politics. I hold up my hand. I'm one of the worst offenders. Good point. I'm out. it's the waiting around until the season starts that's the killer. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancornetto 1 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 A couple of years ago the SNP defence spokesman affirmed that they would keep a Scottish battalion in Afghanistan and send another one to the Sudan plus keep two NATO standard airfields in the north east of Scotland (but no nuclear weapons, of course - somebody else can do the umbrella defence) You are quite right. Politicians have made a horlicks of things. I'm just not convinced that Scots politicians are any better just because they are Scots Anyway, I'm here for the Rangers. Admin should close this topic or reduce it to the lounge or even better ban politics. I hold up my hand. I'm one of the worst offenders. You'll be shocked to note that I don't agree but I reserve your right to do just that my friend. Nobody is getting their knickers in a twist I don't think and so I'd say let the discussion continue. There's a time and a place and I'd say the off season a couple of months before the biggest decision many of us will make in our lifetimes justifies it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Anyway, I'm here for the Rangers. Admin should close this topic or reduce it to the lounge or even better ban politics. I hold up my hand. I'm one of the worst offenders. Frankie's original post that started the thread is about a new Rangers-related book, so I'm not keen to move or close the thread. I do think it might be best to take the actual independence debate into the Bluenose Lounge section of the forum though, since the intricacies and yes/no arguments of the independence debate itself aren't very well suited to the Rangers Chat section. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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