Sunday 30 December 2012

Carwyn : "We are a drain on England"?


First Minister Carwyn Jones has made an interesting (Bizarre comment , regarding the future constitutional landscape of the UK by , claiming England could strike out without Wales in the aftermath of a Scots yes vote in its independence referendum,

The First Minister said that although it was an unlikely scenario, the “possibility” of England leaving the union amplifies the need for an urgent constitutional convention on the UK’s future.

Carwyn Jones  said:
 “If the Scots leave, it does create the possibility that England might leave as well.
“I think that’s highly unlikely, but all manner of strange scenarios can come about when you start dismantling the UK, which is why, of course, I hope it doesn’t happen.”
He added;
“We know what the consequences would be for Wales [if Scotland votes yes]. Let’s say for example there were problems regarding Wales’ funding, we would have to deal with that.
“For me, the most difficult outcome would be if we had ever-increasing costs and a decreasing tax base.
Carwyn seems to be suggesting that England would ditch Wales as a unnecessary drain on their resources  by adding:
“Plaid Cymru would argue for independence. My view is that it would leave 15% difference between what we raise and what we spend. Now that gap is not easy to make up, and for me that’s why independence makes no financial sense
I think that this an ideal importunity  to  remind you of  Jean-Martin Aussant of  the Quebec Party , Option nationale(ON) response to a similar argument that Quebec would lose out if it chose Independence,

Aussant has an economics background that comes in handy when making that case. against the argument  that  Quebec would lose billions in equalisation payments? by saying  "Good riddance",

He passionately argues that the current system is bad for the province. In a Youtube video, Aussant puts it this way::
"Imagine you have $50 to buy music you like. Your neighbour takes the $50, and promises to give you back $55 worth of tunes".
"What he doesn't tell you is that it's music you don't like -- and there are $25 in administrative fees," Aussant tells viewers. "So you started off with $50 and you ended up with $30 worth of music you don't even like.
"That's Canadian equalisation. We need to face the facts: We'd be better off keeping our money and choosing our own music."
Is Carwyn really saying that Wales will always be poor, that we will always be dependent on money from Westminster? He supposed to be coming up with solutions to this.  Not indicating that it is inevitable ant that theres nothing we in wales can do about it.

Carwyn also seems to be ignoring the fact that it is part  it of  his job  to ensure that Wales does not have a fiscal gap ( Though most States including the UK have one). He may think that his role is just to receive money from the UK government and the European Union  and spend it like a schoolboy with his pocket money but EU money at least is supposed to invested in a manner that the economy grows so such aid diminishes.

It time we stopped thinking of ourselves as being doomed to constant an country of high unemployment an d poverty. We need men and Women of Vision and that means not relying on others to pull us out of our financial inertia and that starts with controlling out own finances and that means Independence.




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This man is the First Minister of Wales. It is laughable.

Anonymous said...

No vision, no ambition and leaves us with no hope. Pathetic

David Walters said...

Carwyn Jones has been banging on about a Constitutional Convention for ages now. He could have come up with something useful but has gone for that instead.

The man is a tit. He doesnt seem to twig that a gap of 15% (even if he's right with the figures, which seems unlikely) is less than the gap currently in the UK budget and which is bridged by borrowing. Moreover, a Welsh fiscal policy would not require us to spend on all those things that are currently spent in the name of Wales.

He's not fit to run a bath, never mind a country.

Anonymous said...

tells you a lot about Welsh politics, the state of the parties and the apathy, indifference and ignorance of much of the electorate when Carwyn saying were a drain on another nation is considered an argument for the status quo rather than for any change in economic, political or constitutional terms.

Anonymous said...

I've rarely so enthusiastically nodded my head in agreement while reading a blog before. Radical action is needed if Wales is to have any hope, or we will remain in our sordid state. What you said is so true, how can it be that the First Minister of Wales is content to see our nation linger on in this dreariness, is it out of cowardice and a lack of ambition or is it rather out of a misplaced sense of nationalism, as unionists so often like to accuse us of?

Siananae said...

Excellent blog glynbeddau - agree wholeheartedly!