Demystifying the economy
Demystifying the economy It is clear to everyone that our economy is broken. We see the growing gap between the richest in society and everyone else. Demystifying the economy is how we fix our broken economic system. We see and maybe even feel the daily struggle to make ends meet. At the same time, we see such huge excess and waste from a tiny percentage of the people on this planet. I graduated from Dundee University in 1996. I didn’t pay tuition fees and qualified for a basic student grant. So I left with only a few thousand pounds of [...]
An actual analysis of Professor MacDonald’s recent analysis
It is amazing what passes as "analysis" these days. If you are a Professor and stick up a website, you can announce a few hundred words as "analysis". If you criticise the SNP, the Scottish Government or the idea of independence, you are nailed on to get a chunk of mainstream media coverage in Scotland and the UK. Enter the 644-word analysis from Professor MacDonald on his new ourmoney.scot website. The headline figure is that: the average Scottish household faces 20% hit to income because of a 30% drop in the value of the currency. The actual drop is a [...]
The Scottish Government no authority all the responsibility for growth
Why does the Scottish Government seek responsibility when it doesn’t have the authority? The Scottish Government released Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation earlier this year (1). On page four, Scotland’s Finance Minster outlines how Scotland's economic transformation would take place during a “decisive decade”. Kate Forbes could not have put it any more succinctly. The next ten years may well define the whole century for Scotland's economy and society. We considered some of the plus points in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation in detail in another post. In summary, the growth-focused strategy targets a Scottish economy that “significantly [...]
The pound sterling is not Scotland’s currency
There is a world of difference between using something and owning it. The pound sterling is used in Scotland. But it is owned by the UK Government. The pound sterling is not Scotland's currency, it is the currency used in Scotland. The only way an independent Scotland could continue to use the pound sterling as its currency is if the UK Government agreed. This post is short and tries to explain the simple fact that the UK government oversees the Bank of England which is the exclusive issuer of the pound (other entities can issue pounds under licence from the [...]
Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation
Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation (SNSET) was delivered by the Scottish Government in April 2022, plotting a course for Scotland's economy for the next decade. It is in danger of being forgotten or at least overlooked. In this post, we detail what it contained. I have to admit to being initially very sceptical of an economic strategy that took the constitutional status quo as its starting point, especially as it was to be delivered in the same year as an announcement on an independence referendum. Couldn't the Scottish Government have waited so that it could be the first economic [...]
A quick response to some Project Fear (as part of a series over the coming months)
Project Fear is back - not that it ever went away. The Sunday Times has printed an article (June 12th) that is half PR for an upcoming book and half project fear. Altogether it is a non-story. Before we look at the “shock” headline figure here are some figures for context. Currently, global debt as defined and calculated by the IMF is 256% of Global GDP. The UK Government debt is 143% of GDP. So the shocking figure for Scotland is....... 110% of GDP. The "debt" (although it really isn't a debt) is the cumulative difference between what the UK [...]
An independent Scotland will be a successful small European nation
Small countries are successful. Scotland's success is guaranteed. What is up for debate is how that success is shared. During our interview with leading Irish Economist David McWilliams, he stated a fact, obvious to everyone in the global north who wants to see it: small nations are successful. Scotland he says has "nothing to fear" from independence. Why not watch the bite-size interview or the extended interview with David McWilliams (follow him on Twitter). Scotland is a mid-sized European nation with a glittering array of natural resources. It has one of the most educated populations in the world and rich [...]
Losing out on tax revenue is not the risk
Thankfully it doesn't happen that often. You find a tweet that seems to be specifically designed just to totally piss you off. Like someone knew you were having a good day and decided to puncture it. Thanks Robert Peston. There is a risk for sure. But it is not from losing a few billion in tax. There are three issues in this one tweet. Which I will take in turn. First is Robert's role as a huge figure in the UK mainstream media and should allow him to rise above "cut and paste" reporting. There is no [...]
The UK Government’s Green Savings Bond
There are a whole host of ways that a government can take to encourage a shift to a greener economy. The Green Savings Bond, the latest idea from the Westminster Government, is not one of them. Over the summer (2023) UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a plan to direct £15B of funding towards green projects to help decarbonize the UK economy. To achieve this he has chosen the good old Bond market, but with a wee twist, rather than using the traditional bond market where institutional investors look to hedge their riskier investments, by buying risk-free bonds from the government, [...]
The Sustainable Growth Commission
As regular viewers of the SCOTONOMICS show will already know, I have a particular itch that needs scratching: and that itch is the Sustainable Growth Commission report written for the SNP Government in 2018. Here is how Steven Hail, our second guest summarised part of the report - the bit that suggests we pay off “our share of the UK national debt”: “It sounds like something you would hear from someone who doesn’t understand how the monetary system works” he said. Ouch. You can see Steven’s further thoughts on the Sustainable Growth Commission Report here and I agree with everything [...]