The Great Scottish FREEEEEEEEEDOOOMMMMM!!!!1!!! vote

[Bereta_Eder]

Yes but we/they pay nothing for medical care, education or pensions.

I simply state this because a friend of a friend got a job at the US recently and the pay was very good. But then she was informed about various expences she hadn't thought about (1.000 a month for medical care for example) and some other stuff.
So I was just wondering.

[regexcellent]

Except that's not actually true. They pay way higher taxes than we do, which is what pays for the healthcare and so forth. And poor people do get free healthcare here, it's called medicaid.

[Alexander's Horse]

I wonder how a referendum for Scotland to join France would go - I'd like to see that.

[Bereta_Eder]

Scotland's ideals seem indeed to be more "continental".

[Dauphin]

The poverty line is a meaningless number, especially in PR where stuff is pretty inexpensive.

I got Scotland's GDP by googling "Scotland GDP per capita" and Puerto Rico's in the same manner.

Looks like my number for scotland is from 2005 though so it's probably slightly wealthier than Puerto Rico but still pretty poor.

Wikipedia has Scotland's GDP per capita as closer to $46k (PPP) or $44k (nominal).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Scotland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland

[Proteus_MST]

Wikipedia has Scotland's GDP per capita as closer to $46k (PPP) or $44k (nominal).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Scotland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland

Which is more than the GDP per capita of the UK as a whole as it iseems:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Kingdom

[Fake Boris]

The UK as a whole is poorer than Mississippi. If the SNP had won, their socialism would have made it one of the poorest countries in Western Europe. That, and really for no other reason, is why Scottish independence was such a terrible idea.

They're still a poor province. How is that better?

[kentonio]

Except that's not actually true. They pay way higher taxes than we do, which is what pays for the healthcare and so forth. And poor people do get free healthcare here, it's called medicaid.

Except it is true, as has been shown every time anyone bothers doing the sums. Taxes here are higher, but not ridiculously so, and our healthcare is considerably cheaper than yours (with better overall outcomes).

But hey, feel free to return to your regular fantasy where America is the only country on earth that has money.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

The UK as a whole is poorer than Mississippi.

Are you comparing figures in USD with figures in sterling?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I got Scotland's GDP by googling "Scotland GDP per capita" and Puerto Rico's in the same manner.

It also provides no sources and should get any sane person's bull**** detector squawking.

[Dauphin]

Are you comparing figures in USD with figures in sterling?

It appears to have been a popular news article last month. Loads of news media ran with it for some reason.

Something was seriously off with the story as the same data had Georgia with a higher GDP per capita than Switzerland.

[kentonio]

[AAAAAAAAH!]

The UK as a whole is poorer than Mississippi.

[C0ckney]

HC and reg in not knowing what they're talking about shocker!

[Fake Boris]

Cameron and Miliband have already ditched devolution timetable

Yesterday Ed Miliband announced his intention to hold a constitutional convention in the autumn of 2015, after the next UK general election, in order to discuss the UK-wide implications of devolution and to bring these recommendations together.

The talks will also determine the shape and extent of English devolution.

The refusal to commit to new powers for Scotland prior to the next UK general election is in breach of the 'vow' made to the Scottish people days before the independence referendum.

The vow, which appeared in the Daily Record, said all the parties with a chance of forming the next UK government had guaranteed 'extensive' new powers will be put on the statute book next year.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was said to have 'brokered a deal' with all three London parttes. He said: "We have agreed a timetable for that stronger Scottish Parliament – a timetable to bring in the new powers that will go ahead if there is a No vote. A White Paper by November, put into draft legislation by January."

It now appears as though that timetable has been scrapped.