Free period products in Scotland

[BlackForestCake]

Bit of good news among the shitshow.

The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously to fund public bodies to make free sanpro available.

Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that it was "an important policy for women and girls", like there was something special about women and girls that meant they in particular need period products. The awful T**F that she is.

When they're painfully dribbling semen non-stop for five days a month, every month, for several decades, then we can talk about this one in terms of "equality".

Until then, the equality we're aiming for is equal access for all females. Free pads and tampons in loos means equal access for all who enter that loo. Works for me.

Well they are of course free to fundraise or write to mps with their proposals....

I doubt it occurred to them til girls got something anyway ...

“ There were certainly a few comments that implied cos girls got pads boys should get something”

They did get something, they got not to have periods and all problems related with the female reproduction system

Its a bit like small children at Xmas. Complaining cos their brother or sister got 2 presents and they only got one, completely not registering that their new bike cost twice the price of the lego set and the board game .... they don't know what they want but they have to have something now girls are..

This is good news. It takes away the shame and stigma for those who are struggling to access sanpro or if you are accidentally caught out.

It's still important to address more complex and deep seated issues like poverty, but there's no harm in letting women and girls have access to sanpro when they need it.

Most of us will continue to buy our own and carry it around with us, but even I can forget when I switch handbags etc and suddenly realise my period has started, then end up stuffing toilet paper in my knickers and anxiously hoping I don't stain myself or the seat I'm sitting in.

If we can expect to have toilet rolls in most public places as part of living in a modern and civilised society, then there's no reason why sanpro shouldn't also be available to those who need them.

Bearing in mind everyone alive owes their existence to a woman and their reproductive system... sounds like a good deal to me.

Monica Lennon is no friend of women btw pearticularly bad over the Gender Rerpesentation on Boards bill. She is one of the reasons I regret the months of unpaid work I spent in the early 90s trying to increase the representation of women in the Scottish Parliament.

@iklboogeymum

Then Plan not to be caught short. Take personal responsibility

Hilarious. Have you thought of a career in stand up?

I don't know what is so unreasonable about expecting adult women to plan for this happening- it's not as if isn't entirely foreseeable more or less every month. I kept a permanent stock in a drawer at work and a couple of pads in plastic wrapping in every handbag all the time.

Where exactly outside of schools will these supplies be available? There's been much talk on here of libraries, community centres, sports centres. The village I grew up in used to have a library and a community centre- both closed post devolution. It doesn't have a sports centre.

it is the economic foundation of the UK that London and the South East are the only net contributors to our economy, and the surplus is redistributed everywhere else.

This is not how money is dispersed in an economy.

Any country with its own sovereign currency and central bank (like UK, US, Japan, India, Australia etc) has an almost unlimited supply of money at its disposal. Money is an infinite commodity. It is mere numbers in the electronic spreadsheets of banks. You cannot run out of money in the same way that you cannot run out of numbers.

There are real constraints of course in terms of actual physical resources - the real economy which underpins the financial one.

The UK government can create any amount of money it requires on demand and spend it into the economy as has been demonstrated by nearly every country in the world during the pandemic in terms of various financial schemes to keep people employed or to be able to access basic necessities.

You do need to use taxation as a form of 'drainage' to remove excess money in circulation so as to avoid inflation. But government spending always comes first and then taxation. Not taxation first and then government spending.

This is a very good resource that explains the concepts clearly.
modernmoneybasics.com/

It's written from a US perspective but applies equally to the UK because of the similar mechanisms used.

If certain areas of the UK are chronically underfunded, this is because of lack of political will rather than a lack of funding by the UK government.

Nations like Scotland or local authorities do not have a central bank and therefore cannot create or issue money. They are dependent on budget allocations from the UK government. They can also supplement their budgets by various local taxes and fines. So in this way, yes they do need taxation first before being able to spend money, but they might resort to other mechanisms like borrowing.

If Scotland is able to allocate funding from its finite budget for period products, free prescriptions etc, then the UK government has zero excuse given it has a virtually unlimited supply of money at its disposal. It is a deliberate choice by those in government not to.

Yes that's right nonny - the UK government has decided not to fund period products etc. That is their choice. My point was that an independent Scotland won't be able to fund them, because they will have such a hole in their finances that will make the basics a stretch let alone nice to haves live free period products.

I'm afraid saying you can't run out of money because you can't run out of numbers is economically illiterate. Perhaps try that one on with your bank or credit card company and see you how get on.

The UK is a redistributive economy same as most western countries. This isn't shocking or controversial it is just a description of how our economy works. And that is a good thing, otherwise your arguing that the money raised in Kensington and Chelsea or the City of London should stay in those areas, which is not appealing, is it?

Governments can spend and raise money on the international money markets but there are consequences, we still owe it. We are facing a cratering economy and a significant recession post pandemic spending as evidence of this.

Scotland can raise money on international markets by the way, they got those powers a few years ago. The SNP have never used those new powers as they know it will demonstrate that Scotland will get loaned money at a more expensive interest rate than the UK, thus putting yet another enormous hole in the economic independence case.

I'm afraid saying you can't run out of money because you can't run out of numbers is economically illiterate. Perhaps try that one on with your bank or credit card company and see you how get on.

I am not a country with my own central bank and currency. I am a currency user therefore I will always be at risk of running out of money. The UK government, on the other hand, is a currency issuer and therefore can never run out of something it creates.

I'd recommend looking at the link I posted which explains this. I understand this is surprising for many people as it isn't something that is explained clearly to the general public. It took me a while to wrap my head around it too.
modernmoneybasics.com/

Bank of Canada (which is Canada's central bank) explains this also, albeit in slightly technical terms.

lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/201551E

Both private commercial banks and the Bank of Canada create money by extending loans to the Government of Canada and, in the case of private commercial banks, lending to the general public. The Bank of Canada's money creation for the Government of Canada is an internal government process. This means that external factors, such as financial markets dysfunction, cannot cause the federal government to run out of money.

Anyway I don't want to derail this thread further from conversations around period products. So I'll leave it here for now.

I think this is brilliant news, and would have helped me out a lot at various times of life. I hope the rest of the UK adopts this too.

And I approciate the economics lesson. Thanks @NonnyMouse1337 and @Tootsweets23. Will read these properly later.

I am not a country with my own central bank and currency

Neither is Scotland- it might be a "country" for certain local UK issues but it isn't a country internationally. I appreciate of course that the separatists seek to turn it into a country by the international definition by getting "independence" . The question of the lack of a central bank and a currency was glossed over.

The question of the lack of a central bank and a currency was glossed over.

Absolutely! The independence argument failed on the economic side (among other things). To be fair most politicians and political parties across the UK are woefully ignorant of this area, as is most of the public - hence the constant questions of 'how are we going to pay for it?' which is sort of a silly question as the obvious answer is 'like we always do - by creating the money we need'.

Scotland will need its own central bank and currency like another country when it becomes independent, preferably on Day One. Any linking to the UK pound would be economic suicide as we would not have access to the mechanisms around money creation. (Greece's lack of its own currency meant it was always under the thumb of ECB.) The best thing the UK ever did was never to join the Euro.
Scotland mustn't join GBP or Euro. Otherwise independence is pointless when you cannot control the creation of money in your economy.

I understand all of that nonny and am pretty well versed in economics (and yes am conscious this is derailing a post about period products). There are serious consequences to what you are suggesting (which is along the lines of printing money/magic money tree argument that has done the rounds for the last 5 - 10 years). If there weren't serious consequences then every country in the world would do it and they don't. An independent Scotland even with its own central bank would be buggered as it spends more than it generates, and that has massive knock ons to its ability to borrow, inflation let alone the risk of currency speculators etc. So the only solution is massive spending cuts and tax hikes... thus meaning free tampons would bite the dust. Back on the topic! :)

the money raised in Kensington and Chelsea or the City of London

Chelsea and the City of London appear rich because they control the wealth generated elsewhere. The wealth acquired by rich people in those places is created by people working in factories and offices in much less fashionable places.

They are not subsidising the rest of the country, the rest of the country is subsidising them.

@aliasundercover

Such good news. Well done Scotland, let's hope others follow.

Lennon [Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman] said: “This will make a massive difference to the lives of women and girls and everyone who menstruates.

That'll be women and girls then. They can't help themselves can they?

See this one I don't really mind. Same as cervical cancer stuff could be 'women and transmen' or something.

This is a great thing for women and girls though, I hope other countries follow suit, but doubt it somehow.