Brian Monteith: Rushing towards fiscal uncertainty, The Scotsman

IT’S difficult to trust Salmond’s economic judgment after his previous prevarications and u-turns, writes Brian Monteith

WHILE pundits and spin doctors seek to suggest who won the first referendum debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, what is self-evident is that the debate helped to distil the question down to one single issue. In the event that Alex Salmond cannot get the currency option of his choice (a formal currency union using sterling) what is his Plan B? The answer, there was none.

As we hurtle at break-neck speed to the vote on 18 September I am sure we can expect more of the same; the personal but small distractions will be tossed aside and we shall focus more on what for the majority of us are the big issues. Such as what will be the new more expensive price for Scotland remaining a member of the European Union, or how will Scotland pay for the cost of its pension liabilities when our workforce will be shrinking and our pension bill rising (before even considering Nicola Sturgeon’s promise of a lower pensionable age in some parallel universe that only she inhabits).

There may be others, such as the pick-and-mix sweetie shop of freebies and goodies that nationalists have been dreaming up to be paid for by the munificence of oil revenues – while at the same time telling us we can have a sovereign oil fund that by implication requires a more austere approach to public welfare.

We shall see what matters most, but for all that, the one crucial issue that Scots residents (as opposed to the broader body of Scots that would more usually have a say in the future of their country) are already well tuned into is how our economy might or might not work if we secede from the United Kingdom and choose the SNP’s offer of independence without independence. (For those of you not used to reading my column let me recap that there will be no referendum on the new price of EU membership and its tighter straightjacket, there will be less influence than present with any formal currency union and even less still with any unofficial use of sterling, while many other institutions that we shall seek to keep access to such as the BBC we shall have no say in).

Read more here:

Further reading:

Scottish independence: ‘Mortgages up £1600 if Yes’

Scottish independence: No campaign 'playing with fire' says Salmond

Alex Salmond goes on the counter attack over pound claiming: No camp's tactic of ruling out currency union makes no economic sense

Beyond the Scottish Independence Question, Looking at a Greater Devolution in The United Kingdom, A Perspective,

Labour question how an independent Scotland would fund state spending after 37% fall in revenue from North Sea tax

Alex Salmond demands Danny Alexander apologises for a missing 'mountain of black gold' as the two trade blows over oil figures

Scottish independence: FM stands firm on currency, The Scotsman

“An independent Scotland would keep the pound because it’s our currency and it would be in the interests of the rest of the UK to agree to currency sharing. But if the rest of the UK won’t agree, an independent Scotland would punish it by repudiating its pro rata share of UK debt…..Yes, it would remove a hefty burden from our shoulders. But an independent country that began life with debt repudiation would find it could not raise money in international markets without lenders demanding substantially higher interest rates. Scotland’s credit rating would be rock bottom.”

This Experience Must Come, My Uttermost for His Highest, Daily Devotionals Oswald Chambers

Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha . . . saw him no more —2 Kings 2:11-12

It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah” for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, “I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ ” Yet God says you must continue.

Alone at Your “Jordan” (2 Kings 2:14). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your “Elijah.” You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your “Jordan” alone.

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Rend Collective - Build Your Kingdom Here OFFICIAL

Rend Collective - My Lighthouse (Official Video)

Alex Salmond has no tenable plan for currency, says expert | Better Together

Alex Salmond has no tenable plan for currency, says expert | Better Together

"The
only realistic way to avoid the above crises outcomes of Plans A and B is to
combine political union with remaining in the sterling zone. It is only with
political union and the fiscal sharing it allows that the sterling zone is a
credible currency arrangement for Scotland, and it is only by remaining with
the rest of the UK that such an arrangement can work.

By
sticking with his notion that that the sterling monetary union is absolutely
central to the economic well-being of Scotland, Mr Salmond is therefore
actually making the case for voting No in the referendum, because it is only be
staying part of the United Kingdom that the costs to both businesses and
households in terms of their day-to-day payments and transactions are minimized
and job stability, employment and economic growth are secured and maximized."

An ill wind blows as the surge of turbines stirs fears of silent danger to our health, Daily Express

TENS of thousands of Scots may be suffering from a hidden sickness epidemic caused by wind farms, campaigners have warned.

The Sunday Express can reveal that the Scottish Government has recently commissioned a study into the potential ill effects of turbines at 10 sites across the country.

More than 33,500 families live within two miles of these 10 wind farms – which represent just a fraction of the 2,300 turbines - already built north of the Border.

Hundreds of residents are now being asked to report back to Holyrood ministers about the visual impacts, and effects of noise and shadow flickers from nearby wind farms.

Campaigners fear that many people do not realise they are suffering from ailments brought on by infrasound – noise at such a low frequency that it cannot be heard but can be felt.

One such person is Andrew Vivers, an ex-Army captain who has suffered from headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, raised blood pressure and disturbed sleep since Ark Hill wind farm was built near his home in Glamis, Angus.

Mr Vivers, who served almost 10 years in the military, said the authorities had so far refused to accept the ill effects of infrasound despite it being a “known military interrogation aid and weapon”.

He said: “When white noise was disallowed they went on to infrasound. If it is directed at you, you can feel your brain or your body vibrating. With wind turbines, you don’t realise that is what’s happening to you.

“It is bonkers that infrasound low frequency noise monitoring is not included in any environmental assessments. It should be mandatory before and after turbine erection.”

Read more here:

Further reading:

REVEALED: The 'hidden’ peril of wind turbines that catch fire

‘Out of control’ SNP litter Scotland’s landscape with wind farms

Scottish independence: FM stands firm on currency, The Scotsman, Updated

ALEX Salmond is standing his ground and refusing to name a Plan B for Scotland’s currency after independence, despite mounting criticism of his leadership and unprecedented pressure from his opponents.

Amid growing unrest among his own supporters and a slump in the polls, the First Minister is refusing to back down on his policy, which will be given a final seal of approval by his hand-picked group of economic advisers next week.

Last night there was no sign of the issue going away when leaders of the three opposition parties at Holyrood wrote to Salmond demanding that he sets out a Plan B, arguing that his proposal for a formal currency union with the rest of the UK is “impossible”.

Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said an independent Scotland will not be entitled to insist on a formal currency union – sharing the pound and the Bank of England with the rest of the UK.

Salmond’s failure to deal with Alistair Darling’s criticisms of his currency plans during last week’s STV televised debate has led to discontent within the Yes movement and support for independence falling in the polls.

His display has also encouraged the No campaign to concentrate even more of its efforts on attacking his currency plans, sensing a fatal flaw.

Read more here:

Further Reading here:

The Five Tests for a Currency Union

Bill Jamieson: Shedding debt is financial suicide

“An independent Scotland would keep the pound because it’s our currency and it would be in the interests of the rest of the UK to agree to currency sharing. But if the rest of the UK won’t agree, an independent Scotland would punish it by repudiating its pro rata share of UK debt.

For the avoidance of doubt, Scotland’s Finance Secretary John Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland last week that failure to agree a currency union would “absolve the Scots of a £120 billion share of UK debt, which translates into an annual cost of £5bn a year”.

There are other things into which this would “translate”, as Angus Armstrong of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research pointed out last week. If it is this easy to walk away from debt obligations, secessionist movements in Europe would jump at the precedent. How might Scotland’s EU application stand then?

Yes, it would remove a hefty burden from our shoulders. But an independent country that began life with debt repudiation would find it could not raise money in international markets without lenders demanding substantially higher interest rates. Scotland’s credit rating would be rock bottom.”

The Fiscal sustainability of an independent Scotland

Polly Toynbee: Scotland remains Europe's basket case for health inequality showing real marker for poverty

“Scottish politicians seem as unwilling as Westminster to tell voters they must pay Scandinavian taxes if they genuinely want a social democratic future…. Are the people of Scotland genuinely willing to tax themselves towards social democracy?”

Beyond the Scottish Independence Question, Looking at a Greater Devolution in The United Kingdom, A Perspective