Scotland the Stupid? For Sane Scots the Choice Is Clear

Scots, What the Heck? - NYTimes.com: "Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom. And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” — that is, concern about the economic risks of going it alone. At this point the outcome looks like a tossup. Well, I have a message for the Scots: Be afraid, be very afraid. The risks of going it alone are huge. You may think that Scotland can become another Canada, but it’s all too likely that it would end up becoming Spain without the sunshine... I find it mind-boggling that Scotland would consider going down this path after all that has happened in the last few years. If Scottish voters really believe that it’s safe to become a country without a currency, they have been badly misled." -- Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate in Economics (read more at the link above)

Having some Scottish blood in my veins, and having lived for a short while in Edinburgh myself, I'll have a go at this. Any objective, clearheaded person looking at the facts, would vote NO on separating from the UK. So the choice is clear:

1) Vote for Separation, Sentimentality and Stupidity--with the ONLY winners being greedy politicians who would win in the short-term, but things will go quite badly quickly thereafter--want to know how greedy politicians can ruin a place? Look at Detroit.

2) Vote for Staying (in the Union), Sanity, and Scotland, and have a hopeful future rather than condemning future generations to backwater status within an European Union that really doesn't want you.

Final note: the damage that has already been done to Scotland by all this separation talk is unbelievable. Just among U.S. companies, hardly anyone wants to invest in Scotland--with separation looming. If separation occurs, expect capital to flee, including even some Scottish companies!

Oh, by the way, for those pro-separation politicians--throw the bums out! Talk is cheap, those politicians who talk of glorious independence are only out for themselves, they do not care about you or Scotland.

Follow @johnmpoole