by Francis Porretto
By now you’re probably aware that the Scots voted 55% / 45% to remain united to England and Wales. What you might not know is the reason.
Bret Baier’s Special Report conducted some street-level interviews in several Scottish cities to determine the attitudes of ordinary Scots toward independence. A substantial number of Scots opined that Scotland should remain within the United Kingdom because subsidies, national government funding for various programs, and assorted transfer payments from London to Scotland considerably exceed tax payments from Scotland to London — in other words, so Scots could continue to live at the rest of the U.K.’s expense.
I was immediately reminded of the Quebec separatist movement of the Seventies. You may recall that Quebec was at one point a hotbed of secessionist sentiment. What ultimately derailed that movement was exactly the same influence — except in that case, Ottawa was willing to see Quebec leave the Canadian union, but the Quebecois insisted that even once separation had occurred and Quebecois were no longer paying taxes to Ottawa, transfer payments from Ottawa must continue to flow into Quebec.
Cheeky, eh? Yet you’d find many persons here in America of a similar mind, which to a great extent explains Washington’s determination to federalize every program and every position down to deputy assistant dog catchers.
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See how easily Freedom is sold. Such heavy chains for all at such a low cost.
David DeGerolamo
