That’s a bit of a surprise.
I think anyone that believes Wales will financially better off with independence is a bit delusional.
But I’m getting convinced Wales might be better off outside of the UK. So long Wales has been squeezed for the benefit of England, and ignored.
Independent Wales could do things differently and it could be great. Wales is more left leaning so they could raise taxes on the rich, stop people from England buying up houses. We could just have a huge house building programme (or much better medium density) we got the land. If everyone has a much cheaper house then it doesn’t matter if wages are lower all that really matter is disposable income. Plus money isn’t the be all and end all, our natural beauty is incredibly undervalued and experiences bring more joy than expenses.
So I couldn’t see a richer Wales but I could potentially see a happier, healthier Wales.
I think anyone that believes Wales will financially better off with independence is a bit delusional.
I would argue the opposite. With true powers of economics, taxation, spending, borrowing, investment and lending, an independent Wales would have much greater powers to deal with the economic turmoil it has been left in after decades shackled to the union.
Hope so. If independence ever comes up I’ll vote for it. But there just isn’t that much industry or income for the country right now. It needs a lot of education and investment. But then we won’t get that with England so maybe we need to get out for better prospects.
You’re absolutely right that we need to reverse what has become an extractive economy for Wales, likely through lending and investing, things won’t look up for a little while, but as you said, this won’t ever happen under the heel of England anyway.
I guess theres a recent example to draw from - Brexit.
Is the UK better off not being part of the EU? Many would argue that it’s been a colossal f*ckup with worse outcomes for almost all involved
The real question is: is wales better off outside the UK but inside the EU. It probably is. But people are sick of immigration now so I don’t see that happening.
Wales has been squeezed for the benefit of England
Can I ask what you’re referring to?
A recent example would be the HS2 disaster, with Welsh taxpayers out close to £4 Billion with absolute zero benefit to Wales, or indeed most of the UK.
the HS2 disaster, with Welsh taxpayers out close to £4 Billion
I don’t understand this. How are HS2 and Welsh taxpayers related?
So the UK designated the project as an ‘England & Wales’ project despite it not benefitting Wales in any conceivable way and the closest HS2 terminal to Wales (The border) would be more than 50 miles away.
By designating the project this way, the UK government was able to take funds paid via taxation, earmarked for transport projects in Wales, and use them for this.
If you’re interested in more about this, I wrote a piece on it a while ago in which I went a little more in-depth on the subject here
So long Wales has been squeezed for the benefit of England, and ignored.
This has Wales being a net beneficiary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_fiscal_balance
Wales spends 11 percent more per person than England. Welsh economist Ed Gareth Poole notes that fiscal transfers between wealthier and poorer parts of a sovereign state are not unusual.[7] The gap in Wales was covered by transfer payments from the rest of the UK. Such transfer payments, according to the economist Robert A. Mundell, are essential to a functional currency union.[18]
And that’s more-or-less what I’d expect; Wales is poorer than England, and over here in the US, poorer states are generally the net beneficiary of fiscal transfers.
Wales was the first industrialised nation in the world. Imagine that and imagine being poor.
The money wasn’t reinvested in Wales or the people. The landowners took the money and went elsewhere with it.
Wales is a net beneficiary because it has been used as a place to extract money by the English for hundreds of years. Small amounts of growth add up over time, if that money is removed instead of used for growth what do you think will happen?
Independent Wales could do things differently and it could be great. Wales is more left leaning so they could raise taxes on the rich, stop people from England buying up houses. We could just have a huge house building programme (or much better medium density) we got the land.
As an independent nation Wales could arm up (boosting GDP) and retake Lloegr. Then Wales would have even more land.
