New Currency for a new Country

beecher2

Generali wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-10963769

http://country-facts.findthebest.com/q/66/2395/What-is-the-literacy-rate-in-Denmark-a-country-in-the-continent-of-Europe

Tis true, or at least appears to be.

The literacy rate in scotland is 99%, and the 73% refers to people with an 'internationally recognised' level of reading so it isn't comparing like with like. Do people really believe that 27% of Scotland are illiterate?

Generali

beecher2 wrote: »

Do people really believe that 27% of Scotland are illiterate?

Funny time to mis-type!:rotfl:

I don't believe that 27% of Scots can't read. As to whether they are 'illiterate'..? That depends on your definition of illiteracy. Here's the report:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/319174/0102005.pdf

It was published by and, I assume commissioned by the Scottish Government. So what does it say?

Three-quarters (73.3%) of the Scottish population have a level of skills that has
been recognised internationally as appropriate for a contemporary society
•
Around one quarter of the Scottish population (26.7%) may face occasional
challenges and constrained opportunities due to their skills but will generally
cope with their day-to-day lives
•
Within this quarter of the population, we find that 3.6% (one person in 28) faces
serious challenges in their literacies practices

Then later on:

On all three scales the majority of people in Scotland score at Level 2 or 3. Scoring at Level 3 and above is generally recognised as indicating that
individuals have the literacy skills appropriate for a contemporary economy. The
proportion of adults in Scotland scoring above these Levels are 55% for prose
literacy, 61% for document literacy and 66% for quantitative literacy. These
figures are similar to those of other advanced economies in the 1996
International Adult Literacy Survey.
8. Looking at all three scales together, the majority of the population (73.3%)
scored at the OECD defined level of acceptable literacies skills for a modern
economy (Level 3 or above) on at least one of the three scales

Lastly:

This should not obscure the point that people scoring in Levels 1 and 2 tend to earn less, work in more routine occupations, be unemployed or economically
inactive, live in more deprived areas, face health challenges and have lower
educational levels than those scoring in Levels 3, 4/5. There are consistent
relationships between key social factors and literacy scores.

All 113 pages are there for you to read at your leisure.

Anyhoo, back to the question of which currency would be best for an independent Scotland.....

.string.

86% of Danes can speak English, my wife being one of them.

And they are internationally recognised, my wife being one of them.

beecher2

Generali, I'm aware of the report. What I'm saying is that you can't compare the 73% rate with Denmark's 100% rate as one is looking at the internationally recognised level of literacy, the other looking at basic literacy. This was the point which zagubov was raising.

Scotland's basic literacy rate is 99%, as is the rest of the UK.

Generali

Mr Salmond is an economist I think I'm right in saying so why do we think that he wants to take an option for a currency for Scotland which is at best sub-optimal?

My thoughts are either:

1. It's a bargaining position. By agreeing not to 'insist on' a currency union he feels that he can give that up in return for Westminster giving up something.
2. It's part of Operation Don't Scare the Horses. People don't like change. By keeping as much as possible familiar (Queen, Pound, NHS, BBC & Royal Mail) the Yes campaign maximises its chances of success.

Generali

beecher2 wrote: »

Scotland's basic literacy rate is 99%, as is the rest of the UK.

I'm sure it is. So anyway, back to the topic....

.string.

Generali wrote: »

Mr Salmond is an economist I think I'm right in saying so why do we think that he wants to take an option for a currency for Scotland which is at best sub-optimal?

My thoughts are either:

1. It's a bargaining position. By agreeing not to 'insist on' a currency union he feels that he can give that up in return for Westminster giving up something.
2. It's part of Operation Don't Scare the Horses. People don't like change. By keeping as much as possible familiar (Queen, Pound, NHS, BBC & Royal Mail) the Yes campaign maximises its chances of success.

Things would never be the same again - just the midges. But I think the second point is the main one, except that the SNP would probably use the term "Sheeple" for the Scottish vote, as did Angus Robertson.

I'm going away at the end of this week so will be looking in now and then but not posting so much. I expect that when I come back in October Scotland will still be there, come "Yes" or "No". What concerns me most is that my country, Great Britain, may not be there, bar the actual dismemberment.

Think, you Yes people out there, how you would feel if Scotland was wiped from the map and what your reaction would be to the country that did it.

BACKFRMTHEEDGE

HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint has said a vote for independence may lead to capital flight from the country and could leave the financial system in a “parlous state.”

Analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG estimate Lloyds has 26 billion pounds ($43 billion) of consumer and commercial lending to the country and RBS at least 14 billion pounds. Barclays and HSBC’s operations in Scotland are limited, the analysts led by Carla Antunes-Silva said yesterday.

“Clearly the market has started to apply discounts to the banks with the most Scottish connections as they’re factoring in a greater degree of uncertainty,” Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec Ltd. in London, said in a telephone interview.

Investors have also been selling TSB Banking Group Plc (TSB) because Scottish mortgages account for 24 percent of its total book, Credit Suisse said. TSB’s share price has fallen 2.9 percent this week to trade at 281.5 pence, with the volume of shares traded surging to 2.5 million, more than four times the average for the previous 30 days.

Source : Bloomberg

beecher2

.string. wrote: »

Things the SNP would probably use the term "Sheeple" for the Scottish vote, as did Blair McDougall.
.

Blair McDougall is head of Better Together! You are talking about Angus Robertson - there's no reaction from anyone on the panel or the audience as it is blindingly obvious that he stuttered over his words. This is desperate, and actually quite embarrassing stuff.

When you come back in October, the island you live in will still be there, regardless of the decision the people of Scotland make.

BACKFRMTHEEDGE

Scotland & Salmond's legacy to us

As the polls narrow ahead of the Scottish independence referendum and the prospect of a Yes vote sends jitters through the City, it’s good to recall First Minister Alex Salmond’s brilliant financial judgment.

Back in 2007, when Fred Goodwin then boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, was planning his bonkers, hugely overpriced £47 billion takeover of Holland’s ABN Amro, Salmond penned him a glowing letter as follows:

“Dear Fred, I wanted you to know that I am watching events on the ABN front closely.
"It is in Scottish interests for RBS to be successful, and I would like to offer any assistance my office can provide. Good luck with the bid. Yours for Scotland, Alex.”
Those last four words were handwritten by Salmond, according to Scottish political journalist Iain Martin.

He quotes the letter in full on page 238 of his book, Making It Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS And The Men Who Blew Up The British Economy, published last year. Goodwin’s ABN Amro deal, completed a month after Northern Rock’s collapse in 2007, turned out to be one of the very worst of the credit crunch.

It led to the London Government having to bail out the Scottish bank to the tune of £46 billion, almost exactly the value of the ABN Amro acquisition.

Thanks for the assistance on that one, Mr Salmond who, incidentally, worked at RBS from 1980 to 1987 as an energy economist.

Genius!

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/cityspy/city-spy-salmond-shouldnt-have-gone-dutch-9711034.html

Now the Scottish are intending to !!!! off and leave us holding this bag of crap and are also refusing to take any of the National debt with them, you couldn't !!!!ing make it up! Remember that when your kids are paying for university and you are paying for prescriptions.

Seriously next time I buy whisky it will be Irish!