I am not quite sure that I understand the currency issue. There was some talk a while back about Iceland adopting the Canadian dollar, as well; there are other independent countries that use the currency of other nations.
American dollars and Euro are already used at least unofficially on the street in many non-member countries.
Is there really anything stopping Scotland from using the pound until they establish something of their own?
Also, Bosnia set up a currency (albeit, pegged to the German Mark) immediately after their independence was settled, and I imagine they had less resources and more turmoil to deal with than Scotland will.
No, a country can use basically whatever it wants for currency. The issue is two-fold for the longer term though. First as has been mentioned it could make EU membership impossible without their own central bank. Second (and IMO far more important) is that this lack of having your own currency means you cannot set monetary policy. I suppose a lot of countries don't seem to care about that (have a look at the Euro!), but it can be a big deal.
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^Yup. If the entire point of independence is to allow Scotland to be governed from Edinburgh rather than London, it makes no sense to have Scotland's monetary policy governed from London rather than Edinburgh. Then again, adopting the Euro would result in a considerable percentage of policy being governed in Frankfurt.
^Yup. If the entire point of independence is to allow Scotland to be governed from Edinburgh rather than London, it makes no sense to have Scotland's monetary policy governed from London rather than Edinburgh. Then again, adopting the Euro would result in a considerable percentage of policy being governed in Frankfurt.
True. But it doesn't necessarily have to be an urgent matter. They can take their time to develop a new currency. I certainly don't see it as a reason to vote "no" on independence.
Not that I think they should vote "yes" either. Up until recently, I always saw Scots as British people who wore kilts and played bagpipes (although neither are only "Scottish", they are more known for being a symbol of Scotland). I didn't realize that there was such a strong sense of nationalism in Scotland (possibly even stronger than Quebec nationalism within Canada).
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Also of note, three separate polls mentioned in that story put the vote at 52-48 to the no side. Looks like everyone in Great Britain has a tense night of watching a red and blue line, much like we did in 1995.
I think we're going to see a lot of voters get cold feet in the polling stations.
Quite likely, imo. According to the Wikipedia article, the Yes side had a 6-point lead in the final polls before the Quebec vote, and the trend was increasing support. That completely evaporated at the ballot box.
Edit, I think it will be a bit closer than you do, however. 53.5-46.5 to the No side.
They'll fight over it for years regardless of margins and who wins. With effectively a 50/50 split, you're never going to have everyone happy, until the economy recovers and that side looks like the heros.
A photograph has emerged, purporting to show the Loch Ness Monster swimming in Lake Windermere - in the English Lake District.
Scotland's most famous monster was captured accidentally by a photographer who had set their tripod up at the beauty spot in Cumbria, some way south of the border.
A creature appearing to resemble the reptilian 'Nessie', with her arched back and long neck, can be clearly seen in the distance. It was taken more than 300 miles from Nessie's mythical, eponymous home.
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Scotland already has their own* money they should just keep using it.
* This is because Scottish banks print their own GBP notes. They're still GBP although some shopkeepers in England give a sneer when you try to pay with them.
I was watching CBC last night, and out of 60 secession votes, 56 voted in favour of separation, while 4 opted to stay united. Two of those votes were the Quebec referendums.
Scotland already has their own* money they should just keep using it.
* This is because Scottish banks print their own GBP notes. They're still GBP although some shopkeepers in England give a sneer when you try to pay with them.
Sure, but that's just the paper. What backs it is what matters.
