ENGLAND IS DOOMED

Riots in England, but not in Scotland.

The London government faces the problems of  a trade deficit, a housing bubble and anaemic productivity growth.

UK economy: Smooth sailing? - Financial Times 18 June 2014.

 Riots in England, but not in Scotland.

Scotland, on the other hand, has a trade surplus, no housing bubble and good productivity growth, especially in the oil industry.

There was a 25 per cent real depreciation of sterling in 2007-08.

Yet the UK's current account deficit deteriorated to end 2013 at 5.4 per cent of gross domestic product, one of the largest in British history.

UK economy: Smooth sailing? - Financial Times 18 June 2014.

(Scotland has a current account surplus. Scotland exports more than it imports)

In England, there has been the collapse in productivity growth.

UK economy: Smooth sailing? - Financial Times 18 June 2014.

England  is not good at innovation and efficiency.

The high-productivity sectors include: oil extraction (Scotland's North Sea oil) and utilities (including Scotland's alternative energy sector).

UK economy: Smooth sailing? - Financial Times 18 June 2014.

It is the Scots who have invented most things.

 The UK today

England does do well in the sectors of prostitution, narcotics and smuggling.

(In 1987, Italy started taking account of its 'shadow economy' when it calculated its GDP. As a result, Italy's economy grew by 18% overnight. National accounts: Sex, drugs and GDP )

UK economy: Smooth sailing? - Financial Times 18 June 2014.


Oxfam poster describing England

COMMENT in the Financial Times

"What really matters is the current account deficit. As long as this is negative, Britain is importing capital to blow on consumption... 

"Our politicians welcome the Chinese, and this is treated as good news, but as far as I can tell, most of the discussions seem to concern negotiations to sell them even more of our national wealth."

Remember that we are about to see the End of ENGLAND, according to MoneyWeek.

barnsdale.wordpress.com

Angus Tulloch is one of the UK's top fund managers.

He supports the idea of an independent Scotland.

He points out:

1. A higher percentage of people in Scotland go on to higher education than in the wider UK.

2. Scotland has very strong assets, including energy.

3. The London government is too 'southeast-centric'.


YES!

SUPER-RICH SCOTLAND

Scottish Inventions.

The magazine New Scientist suggests that Scotland could be very, very rich if it votes YES for independence on 18 September 2014.

Four futures for an independent Scotland

According to the New Scientist:

1. "If the UK's Trident nuclear submarine base moves from the river Clyde after independence - as Scottish nationalists say it must - then prospecting off the west coast could begin too.

"It is currently banned in case it interferes with naval operations there."

(A west coast oil boom was blocked by the Ministry of Defence.) 


No oil exploration on the WEST coast, by order of the military

2. "According to the oil industry, there are between 15 and 24 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas left under the North Sea.

"About 42bn barrels have been extracted since production began there in 1967.

"Because prices have risen, 24bn barrels could be worth £1.5 trillion – more than the value of all the oil and gas extracted so far.

"'That gives us one of the best financial safety nets of any country in the world,' the Scottish government says."

(There is '£24 trillion' of oil and gas left in the North Sea, according to some estimates)

The Scots invented most things.

3. "Scotland must choose its path carefully. 

"There are a number of directions it could decide on: 

oil-investment paradise, 

renewable-energy Mecca, 

high-tech playground."

Kilts

4. Scotland should avoid "the time-honoured British model of an economy run by bankers, built on debt and managed to the timetable of the quarterly financial results."

Read more: "Four futures for an independent Scotland"