The Scotsman is effectively owned by the hedge fund Golden Tree Asset Management. Major investors? Who knows but folk like Rishi Sunak and his wife or Sir Keir Starmer or Anas Sarwar and his mum?
Today, they’re calling for this:
Scottish Government should consider means-testing of universal benefits like free prescriptions and free tuition fees – Scotsman comment
because:
bankers are warning that high taxes are already putting people off the idea of moving to Scotland. Judith Cruickshank, of the Royal Bank of Scotland, said she had heard “many anecdotal stories about people choosing to remain in cities like Manchester or Newcastle or Birmingham”.
and:
As the government seeks to fill its £1.5 billion funding gap, it is taking a large amount of money out of an economy that is already struggling. Meanwhile, long-standing policies of ‘free’, or rather taxpayer-funded, tuition fees for students and free prescriptions remain untouched. In addition, Scotland provides free bus travel for those aged under 22, sends free baby boxes to new mums, and there is even talk of a universal basic income – ‘free’ money for all.
In addition to the heartless elitism being pushed here, it’s economically illiterate. From the Jimmie Reid Foundation in 2012:
•Universalism is incredibly efficient – the selective element of pension entitlement is more than 50 times more inefficient than the universal element measured in terms of fraud and error alone and without even taking into account the cost of administration.
•In economic terms universalism is clearly shown to deliver Merit Goods (things we all benefit from) and Public Goods (things that could not be delivered without collective provision) which selectivity simply cannot deliver.
•The economic impact of universalism is much greater than the economic impact of selectivity because of the multiplier profile of expenditure
•Universalism also creates positive economic stability by mitigating the swings in the business cycle and creating much more economic independence among the population
•On virtually every possible measure of social and economic success, all league tables are topped by societies with strong universal welfare states
•Universalism creates a higher and more progressive tax base which also improves economic stability, reduces price bubbles and creates more efficient flatter income distributions
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Well , the English newspapers , including The Scotsman funnily enough , tried their best to copy the BBC in peddling the story that people in Scotland will be horrified at being different from England in taxing more those on the highest incomes however , it didn’t work , even though every single one of the English newspapers which is really all Scotlands newspapers , screamed the same outrage as the BBC that Scotland should have the audacity to decide something itself for itself , how dare they don’t they know of Englands superiority ?
As it turned out there was hardly a peep about it from ninety percent of the Scottish population because they agree it is the best thing to do they don’t want to end free prescriptions or free bus travel or free university education , baby boxes , free school meals , help with childcare costs , lower council tax than England etc etc but that won’t stop the English newspapers from issuing their foreign subsidised newspapers every day with their English propaganda , the thing is we in Scotland know what they’re doing unlike back in 2014 when people in Scotland actually trusted the newspapers to tell the truth and trusted the BBC to be honest too but that was then this is now , their trick is busted , we don’t want them to stop though oh no , we want them to keep on printing those newspapers and stacking them high in the supermarkets so we can continue to have a wee laugh every time we pass them at how hardly any of them have been sold.
I do hope they recycle the thousands and thousands of newspapers we don’t but.😎
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Well said, and it would seem that the old adage “fool me once”, is now ringing home in a lots of Scots after 2014.
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Often means testing ends up costing more than any perceived benefit savings.
Scotland doesn’t need more bankers,health and social carers yes but definitely no more overpaid speculators who squirrel their cash away in offshore tax havens.
Hopefully our government’s taxation policies will attract the right sort of people.
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Anent prescriptions: 91% of prescriptions in England are free. Over half are issued to hospital inpatients, they’ve always been free. Of the rest, there are numerous exemptions to the charge: by age; specific illnesses or conditions; pregnant women and nursing mothers; UC claimants. On top of that there are prepayment discount schemes etc… A huge amount of administration to collect an, often nominal, sum from about ⅕ of GP issued prescriptions.
Aye, let’s do that; never mind the bigger picture; an intervention with medication can avoid costly and unnecessary hospital stays. Let’s have people not having prescriptions filled, because some right wing frothers think charging £9.35 per item will “prevent frivolous use” (a phrase I’ve seen and heard all too often).
If it generates any money, it’ll be aboot tuppence three farthin’; once you factor administration costs and possible savings elsewhere in the healthcare system. Add in fewer working days lost, therefore tax revenue lost and possibly shelling out sickness benefits, it adds up to a whole world of stupidity.
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*about 1/5 of GP issued*
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Not again, means tested benefits mean it costs more because of administration costs. Administration costs are more than the benefit. Benefits could be higher without administrations costs.
Keeping people well (prescriptions) less people are sick and dying. Saving monies. Pensions are 1/4 of the average income. The lowest in Europe. Pensioners and those in need are already not claiming due benefits. Elderly women are most in need. They worked P/T so did not qualify for pension rights. They live longer. Some people want to impoverish their mothers who gave them life.
Personal care keeps people in their own homes. Residential home care and hospital care need much more funding. Personal care £100+ a week. Residential care £1000+. Hospital care £thousands.
The Scotsman is £millions in debt. Low readership. Kept going by printing Gov literature. Printing press.
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The Tories cut education funding £6Billion a year. Imposing massive debt on students in the south. £Billions of student loan debt. Half will not be paid back. Just saddled people with increasing debt. The Scottish Gov has to mitigate the cuts.
Westminster wastes and squanders £Billions on HS2, Hickley Point, illegal wars, Gov fraud, tax evasion, Brexit.
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And just watch the Red Tories do exactly the same as their partners in crime the Blue Tories……..”we all live in a yellow submarine……”
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There are no ‘free’ tuition fees or prescription etc. the Scottish taxpayers pay for them by taxes raised in Scotland. Decided by the electorate who elect the Scottish Gov members.
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Regarding tuition fees has anyone seen or heard of any surveys that +Ave beeb carried out on graduates to see how they feel about the Scottish and UK methods.
For example how many would switch from one method to the other if they were given the option now.
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In the Good Ol’ Days, the BEEB would wheel out CBI Scotland’s Iain McMillan daily to whine about Scotland, the SNP and independence.
Now the CBI is defunct, the BEEB has outed itself as just a UK mouthpiece and Britnit propagandists are as frequent as the rain (and just as welcome).
Time for Scotland to have a proper broadcaster for its licence fee.
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Possession of a Scottish Tax Reference should be a requirement for voter registration.
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AND SCUM JUST LEEPS TAKING EH!!!!!!!!!!
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The Daily Record was saying the same.
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The tories and their fat cat buddies don’t want to govern, they want to rule.
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Ah , yes they want us to go back to the good old bad old days
Here is an excerpt from the first statistical account done in Scotland showing what the good old bad old days they want us to go back to were really like , notice how an s back then 1756 was like an f now.
The statistical account back then is proof of the union destroying Scotland and its way of life those who supported Scottish independence had their lands confiscated and auctioned off in London the buyers amalgamated farms paid off and evicted the workers demolished their houses and changed agricultural vegetable and grain land to grass land for sheep .
“The
fchoolmafter’s boule and teaching room are covered with fraw, being both under the fame roof.
About 4 years ago
the teaching room became ruinous, and the dweiling houfe likewife fell into difrepair. The then fchoolmafter, after long and fruitiefs application to the heritors, to get the dwelling houfe repaired, and the teaching room enlarged, fo as to accommodate the number of fcholars in the parifh, applied to the prefbytery for a vifitation.
His requeft was granted; but
no heritor attended, nor any agent for any one of them. The prebytery empowered proper tradefmen to infpect the fitua-tion of both the dwelling houle and teaching room; and in-ftructed them to bring in eftimates of the expence of repairing the dwelling houfe, and rebuilding, and enlarging the teaching room, fo as it might conveniently hold 70, or rather more fcholars, being the number that ufually attend in the winter feafon.
They did fo; and the predbytery decerned
for a fchool or teaching room of 30 feet long, and 14 feet wide, with neceflary windows, a vent on each end, the floor to be laid with flags, and the roof covered with flates.
All
this, with benches, tables, and other needful conveniences, a-mounted to fixty and fome odd pounds.
But the Duke of
Queenberry’s factor, and Mr Daizel, who was then felling off’ his eftate of Kirkmichael, fufpended the decree; and the then fchoolmafter, not being able to call and difcufs the fuf. penfion, left the parith, to the no finall regret of thote that had their children under his tuition.
The confequence is,
that though we have got another fchoolmatter, the fchool-houfe has been fuffered to remain in a ruinous condition, and he is obliged to hire a houle to teach in, and has no dwelling houfe for himfelf and family, but the uncomfortable hut already deferibed, unlefs he hire one at his own charge, which would be exceedingly hard.”
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Here is a further excerpt from the first Scottish census 250 years ago that describes how the union not only confiscated your land and property for supporting Scottish independence it also deported you
Ahhh the good old days the daily record , Scotsman , Herald and BBC want us to go back to
“ The village of Sproufton, that at prefent contains about 300 perions, had, about fixty-five years ago, a common called Haddenrig, to which certain indwellers, diftinguilhed at pre-fent by the name of the Duke of Roxburgh’s cottars, (much more numerous formerly, and who fill pay a fmall rent yearly for their houfes, had by immemorial ufage a right to paf-ture fheep and cows.
But the Duke’s grandfather deprived
them of this right, and converted the common into farms, for which the prefent Duke draws a very confiderable rent.
Ma-
ny of thefe cottars have been deprived of their houfes, and fome of the houfes are in ruins; and thofe that fill remain pay a higher rent than they did when they had the right of the common.
I believe it is certain that the minifter received money from thefe inhabitants for the tythe of lamb and wool.
But
the then incumbent, Mr Baxter, being aged, and having it in view to obtain the fettlement for his fon, my predecefior, in which he prevailed, gave no oppofition.
This leads me to
mention one of my predecellors, Mr Ninian Hume, who was depofed foon after the rebellion in 1715 for fuppofed Ja-cobitifm. He had a wonderful talent for acquiring wealth; having left at his death I. 30,000 in landed property. When minifter here, he farmed land, and in particular a field contiguous to my glebe, a very valuable tract, which was inundated by the Tweed in the year 1708.
On this field refted
vaft quantities of corn, brought down the river from remote places, which none claiming, he fold to the value of L. 50 fterling.
This field, as well as a good part of my giebe, I have feen all covered with water.
“The laft great flood has
rendered perfectly ufelefs a part of the minifter’s grafs ground; for which he has not been able, as yet, to obtain any com- “
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