Not so Fast . . .

Knowing Where the Butteries Are

The Scottish Nationalist movement is skirting a dangerous precipice.  How times have changed.

For years the SNP ("Scottish National Party") has pushed for a referendum where the people of Scotland get to decide whether they withdraw from the United Kingdom and establish themselves as in independent, sovereign nation.  Scotland is a net fiscal drain to the UK.  It could not easily survive if it depended upon its own taxation basis to support welfare payments and central government lolly scrambles. 

That has never been an impediment in the past because the plan always was to enter the European Union as a sovereign nation.
  SNP acolytes had watched Ireland's economic "miracle" once it had entered the European Union.  It has successfully farmed money from Germany, enjoyed the endless payouts and "free money" from European socialism's re-distribution model, run up massive debts, and enjoyed an economic miracle, which is now proven to be a mirage.   "We'll have some of that," they said.  Independence full steam ahead.


Now things have completely turned around.  To enter Europe and the euro-zone now would require Scotland to take on the debts and liabilities of Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy--just for starters.  It would cost Scotland now to enter the European Union.  Instead of Europe becoming the sugar daddy to replace London, almost overnight Europe would require Scotland to be a sugar daddy to profligate Mediterranean countries. 

Now, the SNP is not so keen on independence--at least not just at the moment.  No surprises there.  Its leader, and Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond wants to delay a referendum to 2014, prompting David Cameron to mock that SNP wants a "never-endum".  Of course Salmond knows full well that if a referendum were held tomorrow or any time soon it would be overwhelming rejected by the people of Scotland, who, despite any faults, have always known on which side the bread is buttered.  Canny people. 

Salmond complained that Cameron was sounding--horror of horrors--Thatcheresque!  According to the Guardian:

"I thought his (Cameron's) intervention at the weekend was almost Thatcheresque in its nature – the idea that London knows best and it is operating in our best interests but wanting to set the ground rules for our referendum despite the fact it has got no mandate whatsoever for doing so," he said.

He says that Scotland needs to think about other options apart from full independence--like devolution. 

That sounds a lot like wanting Scotland to do its own thing and have Whitehall and UK taxpayers continue to pay for it. 

Ah, the perpetual puerility of so many in the West.  Let's hope Cameron continues to push aggressively the "put up, or shut up" line. 

From our perspective we have no problem at all with Scotland becoming an independent, sovereign nation--as long as it does not look to everyone else to pay for it.