Thread by @Sakura509

"A LEADING economist has called on the Scottish Government to stop publishing the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures, insisting they do not reflect the country’s financial position."

"He argues the GERS figures do not present Scotland’s real financial situation as some UK spending in reserved areas such as defence and foreign affairs is apportioned to the Scottish Government “as if” they spend it when they do not."

"He argues that the annual statistics are misinterpreted every year by opponents of independence who use them as a justification for remaining in the UK."

"However, Simpson argues that the ACTUAL DEFICIT between revenue raised and expenditure is ZERO as under the terms of the devolution settlement the Scottish Government is OBLIGED to balance its budget every year."

"Simpson argues another misinterpretation is the “deficit” is a reflection of poor management of the Scottish economy by the Scottish Government which he argues appears to be accepted by ministers."

"“Responsibility for the behaviour of the Scottish economy is a function RESERVED to the Westminster Government, and it is they who should be held accountable,” he adds."

LESS Westminster Partying and MORE ACCOUNTABILITY!

"The Scottish Government said: “The GERS figures reflect Scotland’s position within the UK – not independence – under which 40% of spending and 70% of revenue income is reserved to the UK Government."

“The pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need for increased financial powers for Scotland, including the FULL BORROWING POWERS that other countries have been able to use to support their economies during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.”

#ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 NOW!

thenational.scot/news/19868101.…

"If Scotland’s ­fiscal balance was compiled according to recognised standards of ­national ­accounting, then the ­expenditure side of the balance would show ­expenditure by the ­Scottish ­Government."

Since the ­Scottish ­Government is OBLIGED by the ­devolution ­settlement always to balance is budget, Scotland’s fiscal deficit in the proper sense of that term is ZERO every year."

"But the expenditure side of the “fiscal balance” printed annually in GERS purports to show the value of expenditure by both the Scottish and UK Governments “for the BENEFIT of” Scotland."

"So far as I’m aware, no ­other ­country in the world publishes ­statistics that attempt to ­measure expenditures ­according to their ­supposed ­“BENEFIT”, for the ­simple reason that such ­measures are ­necessarily arbitrary and ­subjective.""

"In Scotland’s case, the “BENEFITS” include items like an apportionment of MoD spending in support of the Trident submarine base on the Clyde, as well as Saudi Arabia’s activities in Yemen."

Scotland says NO to #Trident so there's a saving right there!

"Other examples of ­UNWANTED ­expenditure by Whitehall Departments include payments of benefits for unemployment created by UK Government policies, and expenditure incurred in pursuit of external trade treaties that DISADVANTAGE Scottish economic interests."

"Yet another common misinterpretation of the “fiscal deficit” that appears in GERS is that it shows that political independence is “unaffordable”."

What of days before 'Union' in 1707 - Scotland was independent and will be again!

#ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 is Scotland's Future!

"While most informed commentators understand that a future independent Scottish Government will have very different patterns of spending and revenue than those shown in the “net fiscal balance” of today, ..."

"... this remains the most widespread misinterpretation of the “fiscal deficit”, enthusiastically disseminated by the Unionist media."

"It is not an accident that this should have happened, since the idea of ­publishing a “net fiscal ­balance” was dreamed up by the UK ­Government 50 years ago with the specific ­intention of rubbishing ­Scottish ­independence."

"It was drawn up and published by the Treasury in the wake of the 1967 Hamilton by-election to show the Scottish people that they were being subsidised by England."

This comment ought to say - that Scots were deliberately lied to by UK Government!

"The economic cost to Scotland of our ­dependency on England is of course not measured in the so-called “net fiscal balance”."

"It is to be measured by the incomes, jobs and tax revenues that have been FORGONE as a result of the slower rate of growth of the economy because of its mismanagement under the Union."

DISADVANTAGES NOT BENEFITS - from Union!

"This has happened as a consequence of Scotland being unable to choose those economic policies that suited its needs, but has had to rely instead on periodic hand-outs. As old Chinese metaphor has it, it’s ­better for a man to learn how to fish than to be given a fish every day."

Scotland can leave the fishin' to others BUT first, let's get back to the Future!

#ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 is Scotland's FUTURE!

thenational.scot/politics/19868…

"GERS does not reflect the actions of the Scottish Government in Holyrood, after all. Much of the income recorded in it has nothing to do with the Scottish Government, which never sees it."

"And nor come to that does Holyrood have control of much of the spend that GERS supposedly records. Instead that spend is incurred by Westminster - which - and let's be honest about this - has no real clue if the benefit is for Scotland or not."

Westminster thinking is 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿biased!

"The figure is just apportioned to Scotland as if that is the case, whether that can ever be justified."

"So what GERS represents is some weird amalgam of income and expenditure, which as I have perviously noted are not accounted for on the same basis."

"What is more, the amalgam makes no sense because there is NO ONE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for either all that income or all that expenditure, let alone the interaction between them."

"So, whether or not the figures are correct - and there are good reasons to doubt that in the case of the data from Westminster - publishing them tells us nothing useful because there is no one who is responsible for managing the outcomes that GERS supposedly reports."

"You could not come up with a better definition of meaningless accounting data than that."

Try, Gobbledygook?!? 🤣

"What is certain is that the Scottish Government is not responsible for the claimed Scottish deficit: It cannot manage income and expenditure that is not devolved to it."

"And, as a matter of fact the Scottish Government balances its budget. In that case the only obvious conclusion to draw is that the Scottish deficit must be the SOLE RESPONSIBILITY of Westminster government."

'Creative Accounting' or sleight of hand, shifting responsibility!

"So, the question to ask is why in that case is this a Scottish Government report?"

"And if Westminster is responsible for much of the GERS data - which is the case for all the information that creates a reported deficit in Scotland - then why isn't it the UK Government’s name on the report?"

"If the UK Government did accept responsibility for the report it would have to accept responsibility for the utterly implausible claim that so much of the UK GOVERNMENT DEFICIT can be attributable to so few people in Scotland."

"And it too would be responsible for suggesting why that deficit has continued for so long and why Scotland has not, to use its jargon, been "levelled up". What GERS actually shows, after all, is a dismal record of Westminster RULE of Scotland."

#ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 NOW!

"Westminster would also have to explain why it wants to retain Scotland when GERS suggests it is such a burden on the rest of UK, because what GERS would, if it was a Westminster government report, do is provide English nationalist reason for supporting Scottish independence."

"GERS is a con-trick intended to make Scotland look bad."

"But so too is the devolution settlement on finance, most especially when any attempt that Scotland makes to raise its own revenues results in that money largely being clawed back by Westminster by reducing the block grant,..."

"...leaving Scotland more highly taxed but no better off, with England getting a Scottish subsidy instead."

Ah, so, that's WHY Unionists oppose #ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and WHY Scotland's FUTURE is #ScottishIndependence 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!

thenational.scot/news/19520554.…