TheRebelAlliance.
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TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว

@MikeStewart79 @Francotastic1 Christ, I bet you're popular at parties.
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Made up? So what taxes are you imposing or cuts ?
GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland) is an annual official statistical publication by the Scottish Government. It estimates Scotland’s public sector revenues, expenditures, and net fiscal balance as part of the UK, using a mix of actual data and apportionment methodologies (e.g., for reserved taxes and UK-wide spending). It is produced by statisticians and economists in the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, accredited as National Statistics (meaning it meets international standards for methodological soundness, transparency, and independence from political interference).650
GERS is highly debated in Scottish politics, particularly around independence. Critics (often pro-independence voices like Richard Murphy or David Simpson) argue it is misleading, limited by estimates, or misused to imply Scotland could not afford independence. Supporters—primarily economists and think tanks who analyze UK devolved finances—view it as a robust, credible estimate of Scotland’s current fiscal position under the existing constitutional setup. They note that alternative reasonable assumptions do not materially change the overall picture (e.g., the scale of Scotland’s net fiscal deficit), and it serves as a useful starting point for debate.687
Here are prominent economists or economics institutes that have publicly defended GERS’s methodology, reliability, or analytical value (based on their writings, responses to critics, and use of the data):
•Professor Ronald MacDonald (University of Glasgow, Research Professor in Macroeconomics and International Finance): He has defended GERS as produced in line with best statistical practice and has used it to highlight Scotland’s fiscal position (e.g., in discussions of deficits and currency issues). Critics of independence have cited him as a key expert upholding the figures against “denial” claims.4853
•Angus Armstrong (macroeconomist; formerly Director of Macroeconomics at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research / NIESR; associated with Rebuilding Macroeconomics): He has stated that GERS estimates involve standard statistical sampling and apportionment (as all such figures do) and has been cited alongside other experts as qualified to affirm the suitability of the estimates. He has analyzed Scotland’s public finances drawing on GERS data.381
•Mairi Spowage (Director, Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde) and colleagues at the institute (including Deputy Director João Sousa and former Director Graeme Roy): The FAI regularly publishes detailed guides and reactions to GERS. They describe it as an accredited National Statistics product produced without political interference, with robust and well-consulted methodologies. They emphasize that reasonable changes to estimates do not significantly alter the key findings on the fiscal balance, and they have publicly called out misinformation or misrepresentations of the figures. The institute treats GERS as a serious, accurate snapshot of Scotland’s finances under current UK arrangements.656874
•David Phillips (Associate Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies / IFS; head of devolved and local government finance): He has written multiple analyses of GERS releases, describing Scotland’s fiscal position as shown in the figures (e.g., a structural deficit larger than the UK average) while noting broader context. The IFS treats GERS as a valid data source for understanding devolved finances and has reached similar conclusions on the scale of the fiscal gap.5557
Other economists and official bodies implicitly support it by using the data without major qualification or by affirming its National Statistics status. Note that “support” here generally means accepting GERS as the best available official estimate for today’s UK setup—it does not claim to model an independent Scotland’s finances
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Strip away the slogans and the numbers speak for themselves.
Scotland’s notional deficit sits at £26.2bn , 11.6% of GDP supported by roughly £14bn a year in UK-wide fiscal transfers. Independence removes that support and adds higher borrowing costs on top.
Currency is the real pressure point.
Sterlingisation means no control, no safety net, and no central bank.
A new currency means sterling mortgages stay in sterling and if the new currency falls, repayments rise.
These are the hard economic questions that can’t be wished away.
@theSNP
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TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว
TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว
TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว
TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว
TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว

@happymonkey1874 @definitivegazer @heraldscotland All my family were English. I moved to Scotland 60yrs ago, my children and grandchildren were born here.
I vote SNP. I’m an SNP member. I love and respect Scotland, it’s culture and values.
I am not anti-English I just firmly believe Scotland has a right to be Independent.
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TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว

Children in Lubbock, Texas were admitted to the hospital with liver damage. Not from measles. From vitamin A toxicity — because their parents followed RFK Jr.’s advice and gave them cod liver oil to treat measles. He is the sitting U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
This is not the first time this has happened. In 2019, RFK Jr. traveled to Samoa and ran the same anti-vaccine campaign.
Vaccination rates dropped to 31%. Five months later: 5,700 cases. 83 dead. Most of them children under 4. He called it a “natural experiment.” The Senate confirmed him as HHS Secretary anyway. yahoo.com/news/after-rfk…
🧵1/3
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TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว

I'm not Catholic. I'm not even religious. But I am developing a lot of respect for Pope Leo at the moment. It takes courage and conviction to calmly speak out and aim for peace, not rage.
Pope Leo XIV@Pontifex
God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.
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TheRebelAlliance. รีทวีตแล้ว
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