@AlistairDarling
[quote AlexSalmond]
[quote Mythreeknights]
For AS: I just don't understand how you can feel confident leading this country if there is no guarantee that we can keep the pound, if you plan to default on national debt, and the majority of financial institutions insist there will be massive economic troubles ahead. How can you be confident against such critical certainty from a number of economic experts? How can you reassure me that Scotland will not enter a long period of austerity and recession?
I think one of the crucial points of this campaign was the exchange on this matter during the BBC televised debate of two weeks ago when I explained not just the policy options available to Scotland but why our arguments of a common sense agreement on a common currency, sharing both assets and liabilities is best both Scotland and the rest of the UK.
There are plenty of economic experts, including the economic Nobel laureates James Mirrlees and Joseph Stiglitz, who have backed that position but more importantly all the evidence is that a majority of the people of Scotland support that common sense view. Alistair Darling's admission during the debate that "of course we could keep the pound" merely stated the obvious that you cannot be stopped by anyone from using an internationally tradeable currency but the agreement on a common currency would be best for everyone.[/quote]
Oh dear. Of course Scotland can use the pound. Like Panama uses the dollar. We could also use the yen, the rouble or the dollar. The crucial point is that it would be somebody else's currency, leaving us with no control over interest rates. On top of that countries like Panama or Hong Kong have to hold huge reserves in case they run out of money. It's no accident that these countries have minimal public services. Nothing like what we already have here. Crucially, Scotland would have no central bank. That would cost us tens of thousands of job in the financial services industry. If this really is Alex's Plan B, it is mad.[/quote]
Alistair, I think by now you would have realised that with almost 3,000 Scottish businesses supporting Business for Scotland, with some of Scotland's greatest wealth-creators on board, you would have realised that scaremongering tactics are not working for you. It would be nice if you could bring yourself to accept, like even David Cameron has, that Scotland could be a prosperous and successful independent country.
We're engaged in a political debate but one thing is clear that more and more Scots are not prepared to accept tactics such as telling us that we're not entitled to use our own currency and also the idea that the Westminster parties would appropriate the financial assets of the Bank of England without realising that inevitably means getting stuck with all the enormous liabilities that you and George Osborne accumulated over these last six years is hardly balanced or appropriate.
Finally, Alistair, it seems passing strange that you didn't manage to think of these things during the debate we had on BBC two weeks ago! Unfortunately for the no campaign, lots of people saw the debate, evaluated the arguments and are acting appropriately.