• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE TO BYLINES SCOTLAND
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Bylines Scotland
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
    • Europe
    • King Charles III
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • Scotland
    • War in Ukraine
    • World
    Go Dharmic charity with Martin Dover

    Putting compassion into action – Coronation Champion Award winner Martin Dover leads the way.

    Police Investigation

    There’s been a murder

    Heart of NHS

    Back to the future

    Women health inequalities represented by a heart and a cardiogram

    Women’s Health in Scotland: challenges and progress

    Oil in Scotland

    Oil, Margaret Thatcher and Dinnae Mess Wi Us

    Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh

    Scotland’s Road to Devolution

    Poverty in Scotland

    Poverty in Scotland 2022

    NHS Scotland

    A Healthcare System that delivers for people?

    Scottish political calls

    Liberté, égalité, fraternité

    Trending Tags

    • Democracy
    • Devolution
    • Brexit
    • Ukraine
  • Politics
    • All
    • Council Areas
    • Europe
    • Holyrood
    • Liz Truss
    • Rest of UK
    • Tories
    • United Kingdom
    • Westminster
    • World
    UK voting system First-past-the-post

    Why is the UK still locked into an obsolete political system?

    Scottish Parliament Party seats

    People like to back the winning side.

    Post Election Blues

    Post-election blues

    Labour Anas Sarwar cartoon

    The challenge for Labour in Scotland

    Hard Labour

    Hard Labour

    Edinburgh Military Tattoo mixed with EU symbol

    Great visionaries brought us two great institutions that made life better for Scots and Scotland

    Westminster Government

    Regimes are at their most dangerous in their death throes 

    Rupert Murdoch portrait

    Why Rupert Murdoch should support Scotland’s independence.

    Demonstrator on the streets of London

    Eggs, black shirts and unsettled Britain

    Trending Tags

    • Equality
    • Johnson
    • Scottish National Party
  • Business
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Corporations
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Fishing
    • Natural Resources
    • Shipbuilding
    • Trade
    • Transport
    • Workers
    A crane in a port

    Forth and Clyde Drowned by the Thames and Mersey

    Scotland's green Freeport's

    Green freeports – gateway to sustainability or greenwashing with a tax avoidance cherry?

    Salmon covered by sea lice

    Anyone for sea lice risotto?

    Bakkafrost Barge

    The Story of the Bakkafrost Barge Sinking

    Fish farm in Scotland

    A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

    Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

    How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

    Dead salmons

    Death in our waters

    Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

    Fish Farming in Scotland 

    Offshore wind farm

    How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

    Trending Tags

    • Health
      • All
      • Assisted dying
      • Covid
      • Influenza
      • Polio virus
      • Respiratory
      • Scientific Research
      Illustration of an antibiotic running away from bacteria depicting antibiotic resistance

      Antibiotic resistance – a major global public health threat

      Slogan Still Home from Clinically Vulnerable Families group

      Covid-19 lockdown continues for many in the UK

      Tree representing lungs

      Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

      Health service

      Funding the Scottish Health Service 

      A goose surrounded by avian flu

      Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

      A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

      The Ethiopia Medical Project

      Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

      “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

      Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

      Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

      A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

      Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

      Trending Tags

      • Environment
        • All
        • Air Pollution
        • Biology
        • Climate Change
        • Wildfires
        Balblair substation

        Desecrating the glens: the relentless march of the industrial triffids

        Salmon covered by sea lice

        Anyone for sea lice risotto?

        Diagram representing circular economy

        Local Authorities, communities and the circular economy

        Bakkafrost Barge

        The Story of the Bakkafrost Barge Sinking

        Fish farm in Scotland

        A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

        Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

        How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

        Dead salmons

        Death in our waters

        Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

        Fish Farming in Scotland 

        Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

        Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

        Trending Tags

        • Opinion
        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
          • Europe
          • King Charles III
          • Queen Elizabeth II
          • Scotland
          • War in Ukraine
          • World
          Go Dharmic charity with Martin Dover

          Putting compassion into action – Coronation Champion Award winner Martin Dover leads the way.

          Police Investigation

          There’s been a murder

          Heart of NHS

          Back to the future

          Women health inequalities represented by a heart and a cardiogram

          Women’s Health in Scotland: challenges and progress

          Oil in Scotland

          Oil, Margaret Thatcher and Dinnae Mess Wi Us

          Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh

          Scotland’s Road to Devolution

          Poverty in Scotland

          Poverty in Scotland 2022

          NHS Scotland

          A Healthcare System that delivers for people?

          Scottish political calls

          Liberté, égalité, fraternité

          Trending Tags

          • Democracy
          • Devolution
          • Brexit
          • Ukraine
        • Politics
          • All
          • Council Areas
          • Europe
          • Holyrood
          • Liz Truss
          • Rest of UK
          • Tories
          • United Kingdom
          • Westminster
          • World
          UK voting system First-past-the-post

          Why is the UK still locked into an obsolete political system?

          Scottish Parliament Party seats

          People like to back the winning side.

          Post Election Blues

          Post-election blues

          Labour Anas Sarwar cartoon

          The challenge for Labour in Scotland

          Hard Labour

          Hard Labour

          Edinburgh Military Tattoo mixed with EU symbol

          Great visionaries brought us two great institutions that made life better for Scots and Scotland

          Westminster Government

          Regimes are at their most dangerous in their death throes 

          Rupert Murdoch portrait

          Why Rupert Murdoch should support Scotland’s independence.

          Demonstrator on the streets of London

          Eggs, black shirts and unsettled Britain

          Trending Tags

          • Equality
          • Johnson
          • Scottish National Party
        • Business
          • All
          • Agriculture
          • Aviation
          • Corporations
          • Energy
          • Finance
          • Fishing
          • Natural Resources
          • Shipbuilding
          • Trade
          • Transport
          • Workers
          A crane in a port

          Forth and Clyde Drowned by the Thames and Mersey

          Scotland's green Freeport's

          Green freeports – gateway to sustainability or greenwashing with a tax avoidance cherry?

          Salmon covered by sea lice

          Anyone for sea lice risotto?

          Bakkafrost Barge

          The Story of the Bakkafrost Barge Sinking

          Fish farm in Scotland

          A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

          Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

          How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

          Dead salmons

          Death in our waters

          Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

          Fish Farming in Scotland 

          Offshore wind farm

          How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

          Trending Tags

          • Health
            • All
            • Assisted dying
            • Covid
            • Influenza
            • Polio virus
            • Respiratory
            • Scientific Research
            Illustration of an antibiotic running away from bacteria depicting antibiotic resistance

            Antibiotic resistance – a major global public health threat

            Slogan Still Home from Clinically Vulnerable Families group

            Covid-19 lockdown continues for many in the UK

            Tree representing lungs

            Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

            Health service

            Funding the Scottish Health Service 

            A goose surrounded by avian flu

            Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

            A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

            The Ethiopia Medical Project

            Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

            “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

            Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

            Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

            A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

            Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

            Trending Tags

            • Environment
              • All
              • Air Pollution
              • Biology
              • Climate Change
              • Wildfires
              Balblair substation

              Desecrating the glens: the relentless march of the industrial triffids

              Salmon covered by sea lice

              Anyone for sea lice risotto?

              Diagram representing circular economy

              Local Authorities, communities and the circular economy

              Bakkafrost Barge

              The Story of the Bakkafrost Barge Sinking

              Fish farm in Scotland

              A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

              Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

              How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

              Dead salmons

              Death in our waters

              Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

              Fish Farming in Scotland 

              Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

              Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

              Trending Tags

              • Opinion
              No Result
              View All Result
              Bylines Scotland
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home Economics

              Delivering a Scottish Wellbeing economy?

              An open conversation with answers about wellbeing economy is of fundamental importance in a campaign for an independent Scotland

              Cathryn JonesbyCathryn Jones
              01-05-2023 06:22
              in Economics, Scotland
              Wellbeing economy -coins and house

              Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay

              250
              VIEWS
              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

              The concept of the wellbeing economy has of course been around for some time.  It describes an economy which is designed around satisfaction with the meeting of basic as well as quality of life needs, reducing systemic inequality and working within planetary boundaries.  The wellbeing economy requires the delivery of sufficient productivity in ways which are as far as possible compatible with these aims. 

              The Scottish think tank Common Weal has essentially been writing about the wellbeing economy for the last ten years, covering many of the policy area reforms that contribute to achieving this.  Ideas mostly for after Scottish independence, but some of which can be begun now compiled in a library of policy papers.

              More recently the campaign group, Believe in Scotland has begun to champion the wellbeing economy.  Polling they have commissioned, indicates that a commitment to achieving a wellbeing economy and to uplift state pensions would significantly boost support for Scottish independence.

              There seems to be a general consensus that Scotland wants a wellbeing economy even from those who don’t yet support independence.  The SNP government also supports a wellbeing economy.  The lack of economic levers and policy powers available under the devolution settlement suggest that only after independence could significant progress be made towards creating one, across the board. Westminster based parties show no intentions of fundamentally changing our current systems.

              Wellbeing economy without evidence and strategies is just aspiration 

              However, saying we are going to have a wellbeing economy isn’t enough.  The answers need to be there in any independence campaign, for those sceptical about how it is to be delivered, to get to the point of independence.  It seems foolhardy to say ”all policy decisions can wait until after independence”.  

              A wellbeing economy is merely aspiration unless we have identified and prioritised preparing and putting in place the optimum tools and conditions to achieve it. It isn’t sufficient to say “we will grow the economy and that’s how we will have a wellbeing economy”. We need to know whether the conditions under which our economy will operate are conducive to policy leading to wellbeing. 

              We need to explain the issues in straightforward, digestible terms to the electorate, bearing in mind that the aim is to convince at least 10% of voters to move to independence.  We need the already convinced, to be able to articulate the plan to the undecided. A prospectus that voters can understand and trust will lead to a wellbeing economy and that only independence can deliver.

              An independent Scotland must support intense public spending

              After independence we will not be like most normal independent countries, we will not just be concerned with the day to day running of Scotland, we will be in ”establishing our nation” mode. It is impossible to say how long this phase will last.

              However, certainly it will be a period of intense public spending: building infrastructure, putting in place Government departments, investing in our key industries as part of our national economic strategy, fully or part nationalising utilities, training our workforce, restoring our NHS and care sector, developing our own defence and international trade policies and a myriad of reforms that could support a wellbeing economy.  

              In order to support this public spending, Scotland must increase its productive capacity to absorb the extra currency spent into the economy; i.e. that supply is able to keep pace with demand. This is how we reduce the risk of inflation. Scotland is fortunate to have an abundance of natural resources which can be mobilised, most effectively issuing our own currency, to build and increase our productive economy. This means we can make different spending choices than some other newly independent countries with fewer resources, and we need to recognise this and utilise our advantages.

              To be able to decide the stake the state will take for the people of Scotland and for our benefit, the state must have the flexibility to decide the scope and nature of that stake and issuing our own currency gives the greatest ability to do this. The alternatives are an over reliance on foreign inward investment and private/corporate sector financing. These are the very same extractive systems and inequality drivers that we are seeking to escape by becoming an independent nation. Surely, a regulated mixed economy, conducive to a wellbeing economy, is what we have stated we are aiming for, isn’t it?

              Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet
              Economy

              Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

              byCathryn Jones
              17 March 2023

              Knowledge of differences in using own and foreign currencies

              We need to understand the different conditions and capabilities that determine our palette of choices using our own currency as opposed to using the currency of another country.

              The October 2022 SNP economic paper sets out their plans for the economy after Independence. The currency plan is to continue to use Sterling “for a period” after the transition period ends, but there is no clear timeline for how long that will be other than vague notions of testing our readiness to introduce our own currency. There is good reason to believe that the conditions they are expecting to observe before the currency is established, are the very ones that would arise as a result of introducing our own currency.

              Most economists recommend that an iScotland adopts its own currency. Currency sovereignty is what enables us flexibly, and without recourse to the monetary policies of another country, to shape and invest in our economy. This would be severely reduced if we were using a foreign currency, diverting too many of our resources and distorting our economy to earn the currency to pay off foreign currency debt arising from borrowing, including interest rates we don’t control. Not to mention that without a currency issuing central bank in place after independence, our economy would have no lender of last resort which would render us vulnerable to any domestic or international crises. 

              There is a risk that Westminster could threaten to disconnect Scottish banks from the U.K. payments transfer system, which would seriously hobble our economy. Even if Westminster did not follow through on the threat, it may be enough to sow enough anxiety to prevent people voting for independence as did the refusal to agree to a currency union in 2014. Why take this chance again?

              For all of the above reasons, it is unrealistic to believe that Scotland will be able to commit to the extra spending it needs to invest in building our nation and productive capacity, day to day governance and a wellbeing economy while using the currency of another country.

              Not to mention the fact that the Scottish Government, like most governments for the last 40 years, is maintaining a narrative that fails to take into account the profound differences between the capabilities of a currency user with those of a fiat currency issuer that is overly concerned with reducing deficits and “balancing the books”. This is counterproductive to all stated aims and requirements of the early years of independence, and while pertinent to a currency user, is unnecessary for a currency issuer.

              Preparedness for delivering a wellbeing economy: own currency and effective policies

              To give the best chance of delivering a wellbeing economy in the shortest possible timescale, the Scottish Government should begin planning now for our own currency by preparing legislation for a central bank and currency to be passed immediately upon a vote for independence. By beginning planning for the institutions and systems to run our economy, we can make best use of the 2-3 years of the transition period to ensure we can respond to whatever decision a newly elected government of an independent Scotland takes; be it immediate introduction of our own currency or to delay.

              Many reforms pertaining to a wellbeing economy need to be being formulated. Areas such as land reform, food and renewable energy development and self sufficiency, banking and finance regulation. Policy is constrained in scope by our ability to spend on behalf of Scots. Our own currency gives agency to policy under the most manageable and flexible circumstances. Obviously, our own currency isn’t enough to guarantee success on its own and good policy is essential to good outcomes.

              Debate among stakeholders and campaign groups is essential

              There is a lot of talk about the wellbeing economy at the moment but not enough official Scottish Government substance yet on the things we can and need to prepare now, despite much being written by various groups. We need, as a matter of urgency, to facilitate debate between stakeholders in society along with policy, expert and campaign groups to decide together our best alternatives and outcomes.

              During a campaign for independence we can be sure that the questions about how we will pull off a wellbeing economy will be asked by those willing to be convinced as well as repeatedly by those who would seek to stop us. Let’s have credible answers ready, so we can win independence this time. Let’s show the world how a wellbeing economy is achieved.


              We need your help! The press in our country is dominated by billionaire-owned media, many offshore and avoiding paying tax. We are a citizen journalism publication but still have significant costs. If you believe in what we do, please consider subscribing to the Bylines Gazette 🙏

              Previous Post

              Coronation Chickens … coming home to roost

              Next Post

              Liberté, égalité, fraternité

              Cathryn Jones

              Cathryn Jones

              BSc Politics and Soc Sciences, PostGrad Dip In Administration. Interested in the circular economy, politics and the workings of the monetary system. Member of the Scottish Currency Group since 2020. I have lived in East Lothian for 27 years with my partner and our 2 children. For the last 5 years I have worked at Reuse Scotland in Dunbar, a charity dedicated to preventing serviceable items going to landfill through voluntary donations. What we earn from the sale of these items we donate to many charities and schools in East Lothian.

              Related Posts

              A balance: neoliberal versus wellbeing economy
              Economics

              A Wellbeing Economy — Why Do We Need It, What Is It and How Do We Pay for It?

              byJim Byrne
              18 May 2023
              Government expenditure_a man with lock in tax
              Economics

              UK Government spending – how you think it works versus how it actually works

              byJim Byrne
              14 March 2023
              High interests more debt. Money squeezed
              Economics

              Interest rates and inflation – it’s time we stopped kidding ourselves

              byJim Byrne
              21 February 2023
              Pound coins in piles
              Economics

              Direct impact of Scotland’s own currency on social benefits

              byLynne Copland
              20 February 2023
              Vertical bars with poundsigns in different colours and positions printed on the fron. seven bars in total, the middle stands straight up, to the right they are falling backwards , to the left they are falling forwards.
              Economics

              Advantages of a Scottish Pound

              byJohn Randall
              9 February 2023
              Next Post
              Scottish political calls

              Liberté, égalité, fraternité

              PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

              Subscribe to our newsletters
              CHOOSE YOUR NEWS
              Follow us on social media
              CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
              Download our app
              ALL OF BYLINES IN ONE PLACE
              Subscribe to our gazette
              CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY
              Make a monthly or one-off donation
              DONATE NOW
              Help us with our hosting costs
              SIGN UP TO SITEGROUND
              We are always looking for citizen journalists
              WRITE FOR US
              Volunteer as an editor, in a technical role, or on social media
              VOLUNTEER FOR US
              Something else?
              GET IN TOUCH
              Previous slide
              Next slide

              LATEST

              Go Dharmic charity with Martin Dover

              Putting compassion into action – Coronation Champion Award winner Martin Dover leads the way.

              28 May 2023
              UK voting system First-past-the-post

              Why is the UK still locked into an obsolete political system?

              27 May 2023
              Police Investigation

              There’s been a murder

              26 May 2023
              Brexit impact illustration

              Brexit Stock Take

              24 May 2023

              MOST READ

              UK voting system First-past-the-post

              Why is the UK still locked into an obsolete political system?

              27 May 2023
              Brexit impact illustration

              Brexit Stock Take

              24 May 2023
              King Charles Coronation and the United Kingdom Flag

              Coronation Chickens … coming home to roost

              29 April 2023
              Police Investigation

              There’s been a murder

              26 May 2023

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Brexit Christmas ClimateChange Covid Covid19 Culture Defence Democracy Devolution election FishFarms Glasgow Halloween health History Holyrood independence IndyRef2 Johnson Journalism Labour LGBT+ Liz Truss Monarchy NATO NHS Nicola Sturgeon politics Poverty Pro-EU Public Health Putin Russia Sars-CoV-2 Scotland Security and Defence shipbuilding SNP Sunak Tories Tourism Twitter Ukraine UK Supreme Court War in Ukraine
              Bylines Scotland

              We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Scotland and beyond.

              Bylines Scotland is a trading brand of Bylines Network Limited, which is a partner organisation to Byline Times.

              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Network
              • About
              • Authors
              • Contact
              • Donate
              • Privacy

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Scotland
                • World
              • Politics
                • Council Areas
                • Europe
                • Holyrood
                • Rest of UK
                • Westminster
              • Business
                • Fishing
                • Trade
                • Transport
              • Health
              • Environment
                • Climate Change
              • Opinion
              • Donate
              • Newsletter sign up
              CROWDFUNDER

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In