“If Scotland held the kitty” by Kate Higgins
There’s nothing worse than feeling hard done-by by your friends. We’ve all been on a work night out and put our fair share into the kitty, yet felt that some folk took advantage with outrageously expensive drinks. Worst of all is the dreaded divvy up of a restaurant bill where you find yourself paying for your pal’s starter, top whack steak, pudding AND liqueur with coffee. And there you were, playing fair, picking the least expensive items on the menu.
Sadly, that’s how Westminster has treated everyone in Scotland. For decades now, we’ve more than paid our way and not got our fair share back, to spend on our priorities. Worse, since 2010, we’ve also had to put up with decisions made by a government we didn’t vote for and which are hitting us hard.
Take the financial crisis. You probably feel you’re working harder than ever, for standstill wages, struggling to make it all stretch further to meet rising food and fuel bills. The reason you feel like that is because you are.
A recent UK Government paper shows that the Scots are among the hardest working in the UK – we contribute more per person to overall UK wealth than most other nations and regions. In fact, our hard work and economic output lays waste to the myth that Scotland couldn’t afford to be independent – we even manage to outperform successful small independent countries like Denmark and Finland.
But here’s the thing. They have more to show for their effort. Better pensions, less poverty, higher wages. We could have the same if we were in charge of the kitty. With control of all the wealth we generate, we could choose to spend it differently.
Answer the question, Should Scotland be an independent country, by voting yes on 18 September 2014 and we’d get the chance to do just that.
Kate Higgins has supported independence all her life and will be voting yes in 2014. Not just for herself, but for her children and her grandchildren still to come. She blogs at A Burdz Eye View.
Submitted by Kate Higgins
