alwayslooking up # 65
"So we run a deficit". Seems to be a Scottish habit. The UK deficit was run up by Anthony Charles Linton Blair nee Edinburgh and James Gordon Brown nee Glasgow. Do you hate the next generation(s) so much you will saddle them with your bills?
"In fact, pre 1707 the then independent Scotland had no debt" - also no navy, no industry and few roads. After the Darien Expedition had blown £400,000 (about 50% of total Scottish capital), 58.6% of The Equivalent (£398,085 10 shillings) was used to reimburse the shareholders of the Scotland Company. Many of whom were in the Scottish Parliament - No conflict of interest there then. Some of the rest was used to set up RBS, now 81% owned by UK taxpayers thanks to Fred the Shred.
Your second point - with the current size of the UK armed forces I do not suppose we need the Scottish LFAs as much as we did. Lossie will be the ideal base for the whole of the Scottish Air Force, and you can use Kinloss for the whole of the Army. Garvie Island can be another Scottish tourist attraction.
Hope the hot date goes well.
Perthsaint # 77
"Plenty of people know how the creation of the two successor states would work"
Three recent examples using IMF World Ranking of GDP per capita:
Czech Republic 38 Slovak Republic 40 Difference 5%
Sudan 138 South Sudan 161 Difference 40%
Ethiopia 174 Eritrea 180 Difference 90%
Then there are the minor difficulties of setting up the machinery for Passports, Driving Licences, etc. Hmm!.
In case you think I am a Scots hater - my sons are called Stuart and Andrew.