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| Subject: Let me elaborate... | |
Author: Dave (UK) | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 11:37:44 01/26/05 Wed In reply to: Iain 's message, "ah the empire !" on 22:35:51 01/25/05 Tue Far from yearning for a utopian past, I am identifying with the idea of a better future. We already define ourselves by who we are - a constituent country of a nation of English speaking peoples under a single Sovereign. We have shared this island with our neighbours for over a thousand years and as a single nation for the last 300, which must surely count as the most notable, successful and progressive three centuries in Scotland's history. I want to extend this partnership to everyone in the world who shares our identity, culture, language and political system, not break it up by erecting artificial barriers. You say that Scotland should be free to determine our own destiny. It's interesting that you use the RoI as a role model for a future Scotland. The idea that Scotland can prosper as some kind of economic dream like the RoI's "Celtic Tiger" is passé for several reasons. Ireland's economic growth rate was spectacular, but was based on growing from a low starting point, and by getting money hand-over-fist from the EU for over a decade - a dependency culture if ever there was one. This bubble has burst, as EU money is now being diverted to Eastern Europe and the accession countries. So this is not something that we should, or indeed could, emulate. We will see in another 10 years whether Ireland still has the same enthusiasm for the EU that it has now. Given that the SNP's policy is to swap Government from London by Government from Brussels, and to swap the pound for the Euro, I think their notion of self-determination is laughable. If on the other hand, you believe in independence outwith the EU, then that is a more credible position to take. However, I have no confidence in the leadership of the current devolved Scotland, and I see no reason why this should change in an independent Scotland. A ten-fold over-spend on the Parliament building was not a good start. To provide Scotland with a competitive advantage, we need lower taxation, less regulation and a more business friendly environment. None of these things will be provided by the current Stalinist domination of Socialism as seen in the Scottish Parliament. You mentioned correctly that the Forth Rail Bridge was built a long time ago, as if somehow the past is an irrelevance, of which there are no lessons to be learned. I was drawing parallels between the differences in attitudes now and then. For example, only recently, a Scottish Parliament committee admitted that the skills were not present in Scotland to build Edinburgh's proposed tram network. Is this not a damning indictment on Scotland's current devolved administration? I firmly believe that if the amoebic life forms that preside over our devolved administration are given a free-hand, then we might as well re-erect Hadrian's wall to stem the exodus of hard-working, over-taxed professionals to more inviting shores, of which, I will be first in line. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |