The Scottish Referendum

[steveb]

The debate that aired last night on TV got some headlines for the fierce exchanges.
What struck me was the dominance of the currency question, especially in the points brought by Darling.
I don't have a strong opinion either way with regard to the Scottish people's decision on how to organise their governance, but thought it interesting that the money of the country be both widely misunderstood, and used as a political weapon.

Well done to Positive Money for seeing the centrality of this and putting their ideas for a Scottish Sovereign Money out there:
www.positivemoney.org/publications/scottish-currency-5-lessons-design-flaws-pound-sterling/
If Salmond was a better informed politician he could have taken the opportunity of the referendum to blow the lid on the money system that has shackled Scotland for so long. As it was, there was no clear answer to the questions about Scotland's future currency, no plan, no proposal, just evasion.

[peterv]

nef (New Economics Foundation) are on the case as well - see this recent blog entry

www.neweconomics.org/blog/entry/beyond-yes-or-no-the-debate-on-scotlands-currency-has-missed-the-point

Trouble is - it seems to be too little too late to get the message through to the voters

Quote -
"Moving away from Sterling, Scotland would need to create a new currency designated as legal tender.

Importantly it should be created debt-free by the Scottish Government, unlike all other national currencies which are principally created when commercial banks make loans.

This would implement a monetary reform first proposed by American economists in the 1930’s in response to the 1929 financial crisis, and recently concluded to be hugely economically beneficial by an IMF research paper (PDF).

Key benefits include significant reductions in public and private debt, reduction in general taxation levels, greater economic stability and the complete elimination of bank runs."