In the video you have
just watched I make reference to a number of things, I want to look
at some of them individually.
Make Poverty History:
When the G8 was held at Gleneagles – Make Poverty History - was a
phrase in very common use, it was a statement of intent – and yet
today if you refer to the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland you
will find this:
More than one in
five (220,000) of Scotland’s children are officially recognised as
living in poverty , a level significantly higher than in many other
European countries. In 2014/15 the proportion of children in Scotland
experiencing poverty remained at 22%, after increasing from 19% in
2011/12 [iii]. This increase is in-keeping with independent modelling
by the Institute for Fiscal studies (IFS) which forecasts an increase
of more than 50% in the proportion of children living in poverty in
the UK by 2020/21.
Why?
Starting
from scratch: If a decision is reached that Scotland should start
it's own currency, and have its own central bank – it is obvious
that “we” have to start from scratch. Let me ask you who you
think is the “we” in that last sentence.
If
your answer is that it will be a Scottish Government who will
eventually decide on such matters, and that how such a decision and
the power to implement it comes about would be contained in a new
written Constitution for Scotland – I wouldn't disagree.
However,
does that mean that the rest of us – the remainder of the “we”
just sit about and wait for it to happen, that at a grass roots level
there is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can do – starting from
scratch?
Why?
Sambaza:
I use the phrase “sharing for the common good” as the translation
of that Swahili word, if you google it for a translation, you may
arrive at “smoothen” or “deploy”, but for me when I had
contact with those individuals in Kenya, it was the very real impact
that “sharing for the common good” had on me that caused me to
continue to use it.
I
wonder if - as you think of Scotland as an independent country –
Sambaza - “sharing for the common good” - has that same impact on
you?
Why?
Maybe this is why - this
blog and the accompanying Facebook page could be about:
What?
And the answer would be about the grass roots establishing a new
“medium of exchange” for use in Scotland.
How?
Through creating a new paper currency, and hopefully a new digital
version, fully backed by an equal deposit of legal tender and a
signed promise, one made to each other, a promise we are willing to
trust.
Why?
That for me is the fundamental question, and like me you may have many
different reasons.
I would suggest however, that one of the reasons, is because we are willing to “share for the common good”, and put an end to witnessing any child in Scotland being born, and growing up, whilst living in poverty!
It is one of the many many reasons - why!
I would suggest however, that one of the reasons, is because we are willing to “share for the common good”, and put an end to witnessing any child in Scotland being born, and growing up, whilst living in poverty!
It is one of the many many reasons - why!
I have said from the outset that a new Scottish currency may not be called the Scottish "Hand", it may be a different colour, a different design.
That is about the "What" and the "How"
... but for me, and I also hope for you, there is not one doubt, not one, about "Why"!
.
That is about the "What" and the "How"
... but for me, and I also hope for you, there is not one doubt, not one, about "Why"!
.
