Section 8.3. There shall be a Constitutional Monetary Authority (CMA) holding ultimate responsibility for the administration of the National Currency. It will be independent of the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote in a secret ballot. The CMA shall be funded by making its own requisition upon the normal revenues of the State.
Please scrutinise all the proposed amendments and replies before commenting or voting. Short comments are most often read and must not exceed 100 words. You can propose an Amendment at the bottom of this page - please read the guidelines .
Note that the original wording appears again first below and sustains the same comment & voting regime as all other amendment proposals.
Section 8.3. Section 8.3. There shall be a Constitutional Monetary Authority (CMA) holding ultimate responsibility for the administration of the National Currency. It will be independent of the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote in a secret ballot. The CMA shall be funded by making its own requisition upon the normal revenues of the State.
Section 8.3. the administration of a sovereign currency is undertaken by a national Central Bank - the name "Scottish Reserve Bank" has been proposed elsewhere (see the "Scottish Reserve Bank" website https://www.reservebank.scot/#gsc.tab=0 The Central Bank MUST NOT BE independent of Parliamentary control - it is essentila that the Central Bank be accountable to Parliament.
Section 8.3. This Section advocates a function of the CMA similar to a Treasury but headed not by a “Chancellor” (a politician appointed by the incumbent Administration) but by a respected neutral public figure and members appointed by the whole Parliament in a secret ballot. There is therefore a clear path of accountability to Parliament and the Constitution.
Section 8.3. Why would it be a secret ballot? That's a very odd requirement for a democratic process.
Its pointless anyway. Treasury can perform all the functions required for monetary control.
Ask the Americans. The prime directive of the Federal Reserve is to preserve the wealth of the wealthy and to hell with any other consideration.
Having an independent Central Bank is like having a private Police Force. Only the people who pay get a good service. Everyone else gets no service. a poor service or a good kicking.
Section 8.3. Of course in all democracies every institution is accountable to Parliament – but that hasn’t prevented Thatcher/Reagan de-regulation and corrupt self-interest in high places. We need not repeat these mistakes. The CMA is described in detail in a paper from the New Economics Foundation 'Calling time: Replacing the fiscal rules with fiscal referees'. It is available at https://neweconomics.org/2021/10/calling-time
Section 8.3. 8.3 There shall be a Scottish Reserve Bank, acting as Scotland's central bank, responsible for the administration of the National Currency and for implementing policy as instructed by the elected Government. It will be accountable to the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote in a secret ballot.
Section 8.3. This is the present Bank of England, Federal Reserve & ECB arrangement – a bankers’ Central Bank, and all supposedly accountable to elected government… and look at the chaos, corruption and social injustice. Even the most honest politicians need the protection of the Constitution from these people. We have an independent Judiciary, we can have an independent Monetary Authority – both accountable to ALL the Citizens under the Constitution..
Section 8.3. What do you mean by "independent" then? A Central Bank can't be both "independent" and "accountable". If it is accountable to all citizens under the provisions set out elsewhere in this draft Constitution then it is accountable to them via Parliament. The BoE, the Fed and the ECB all have a quasi legal "independent" status (although whether it is real independence or illusory is a moot point). Giving a central bank "independence" means effectively leaving it under the control of the bankers.... of course the GOP in the USA and the Tories in the UK are quite happy to do that....its the bankers that bankroll them. And, as anyone who has followed the Greek debt crisis fiasco will know, the remit of the ECB within the Eurozone is a disaster.
Section 8.3. The only sensible option here is as Jim says and that is the Scottish Reserve Bank. Monetary or Currency Authorities are a sort of semi-central bank which you only have if there is some very good reason as to why you can't manage to have a proper central bank. The issue with the Bank of England, etc is the neo-liberal idea to hand control to the bankers and thus to pretend the central bank is not part of government. Gordon Brown did that in 1997. The reason the BoE was nationalised in 1946 is precisely because it IS a key part of government and it is not and should not be independent of democratic control. I can provide the principles for establishing the SRB if you wish.
Section 8.3. The Section is clear - the CMA is appointed by Parliament, all its legislative proposals need to be passed by Parliament. As with the Judiciary, ‘independent’ must be seen in context just as any change in the Law requires Parliamentary legislation.. The Constitution needs to protect us from privatization of the currency and monetary policy. I look forward to a positive alternative Section which will be more effective.
The Central Bank has its own Section elsewhere.
Section 8.3. A Monetary Policy Committee will be appointed by the Public Appointments Commission to advise Parliament on matters of Central Banking, Currency, Financial Regulation and Taxation. Click for New 8.4 https://cfs-hub.co.uk/comments/879
Section 8.3. The whole Article 8 is too detailed. So this is one of five Proposed Amendments all headlined NEW ARTICLE 8 and with active links to one another. Here at 8.3 it is accepted that Monetary Policy skills require a fine balance of financial understanding, transparency and high ethical standards. They also need to communicate well with Parliamentarians having a much broader remit. We like our operations done by a skilled surgeon and planes flown by good pilots - we have seen what happens when we leave it to lobbyists and the City financiers….
Section 8.3. Section 8.3 There shall be a Scottish Reserve Bank, acting as Scotland's central bank, responsible for the administration of the National Currency and for implementing policy as instructed by the elected Government. It will be accountable to the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote.
Proposed Amendments to Section
Please scrutinise all the proposed amendments and replies before commenting or voting. Short comments are most often read and must not exceed 100 words.
You can propose an Amendment at the bottom of this page - please read the guidelines .
Note that the original wording appears again first below and sustains the same comment & voting regime as all other amendment proposals.
Original Version
Section 8.3. Section 8.3. There shall be a Constitutional Monetary Authority (CMA) holding ultimate responsibility for the administration of the National Currency. It will be independent of the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote in a secret ballot. The CMA shall be funded by making its own requisition upon the normal revenues of the State.
Section 8.3. the administration of a sovereign currency is undertaken by a national Central Bank - the name "Scottish Reserve Bank" has been proposed elsewhere (see the "Scottish Reserve Bank" website https://www.reservebank.scot/#gsc.tab=0 The Central Bank MUST NOT BE independent of Parliamentary control - it is essentila that the Central Bank be accountable to Parliament.
Section 8.3. This Section advocates a function of the CMA similar to a Treasury but headed not by a “Chancellor” (a politician appointed by the incumbent Administration) but by a respected neutral public figure and members appointed by the whole Parliament in a secret ballot. There is therefore a clear path of accountability to Parliament and the Constitution.
Section 8.3. Why would it be a secret ballot? That's a very odd requirement for a democratic process.
Its pointless anyway. Treasury can perform all the functions required for monetary control.
Ask the Americans. The prime directive of the Federal Reserve is to preserve the wealth of the wealthy and to hell with any other consideration.
Having an independent Central Bank is like having a private Police Force. Only the people who pay get a good service. Everyone else gets no service. a poor service or a good kicking.
Neither a CMA nor a central bank are required.
Section 8.3. Absolutely under no circumstances whatsoever will there be an "independent" Scottish monetary authority.
Why not just invite the IMF to come & run our country?
I see no point in even having a central bank. All the functions of a central bank can be easily handled by a department of the Scottish Treasury.
Section 8.3. Of course in all democracies every institution is accountable to Parliament – but that hasn’t prevented Thatcher/Reagan de-regulation and corrupt self-interest in high places. We need not repeat these mistakes. The CMA is described in detail in a paper from the New Economics Foundation 'Calling time: Replacing the fiscal rules with fiscal referees'. It is available at https://neweconomics.org/2021/10/calling-time
Proposed Amendment to Section 8.3.
The Scottish Central Bank
Section 8.3. 8.3 There shall be a Scottish Reserve Bank, acting as Scotland's central bank, responsible for the administration of the National Currency and for implementing policy as instructed by the elected Government. It will be accountable to the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote in a secret ballot.
Section 8.3. This is the present Bank of England, Federal Reserve & ECB arrangement – a bankers’ Central Bank, and all supposedly accountable to elected government… and look at the chaos, corruption and social injustice. Even the most honest politicians need the protection of the Constitution from these people. We have an independent Judiciary, we can have an independent Monetary Authority – both accountable to ALL the Citizens under the Constitution..
Section 8.3. What do you mean by "independent" then? A Central Bank can't be both "independent" and "accountable". If it is accountable to all citizens under the provisions set out elsewhere in this draft Constitution then it is accountable to them via Parliament. The BoE, the Fed and the ECB all have a quasi legal "independent" status (although whether it is real independence or illusory is a moot point). Giving a central bank "independence" means effectively leaving it under the control of the bankers.... of course the GOP in the USA and the Tories in the UK are quite happy to do that....its the bankers that bankroll them. And, as anyone who has followed the Greek debt crisis fiasco will know, the remit of the ECB within the Eurozone is a disaster.
Section 8.3. The only sensible option here is as Jim says and that is the Scottish Reserve Bank. Monetary or Currency Authorities are a sort of semi-central bank which you only have if there is some very good reason as to why you can't manage to have a proper central bank. The issue with the Bank of England, etc is the neo-liberal idea to hand control to the bankers and thus to pretend the central bank is not part of government. Gordon Brown did that in 1997. The reason the BoE was nationalised in 1946 is precisely because it IS a key part of government and it is not and should not be independent of democratic control. I can provide the principles for establishing the SRB if you wish.
Section 8.3. The Section is clear - the CMA is appointed by Parliament, all its legislative proposals need to be passed by Parliament. As with the Judiciary, ‘independent’ must be seen in context just as any change in the Law requires Parliamentary legislation.. The Constitution needs to protect us from privatization of the currency and monetary policy. I look forward to a positive alternative Section which will be more effective.
The Central Bank has its own Section elsewhere.
Section 8.3. Make it a Treasury Dept.
Problem solved.
Section 8.3. AGREE FULLY WITH JIM OSBORNE 'S AMENDMENT. ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARLIAMENT IS CRUCIAL
Proposed Amendment to Section 8.3.
NEW ARTICLE 8 - Objectivity & Accountability
Section 8.3. A Monetary Policy Committee will be appointed by the Public Appointments Commission to advise Parliament on matters of Central Banking, Currency, Financial Regulation and Taxation. Click for New 8.4 https://cfs-hub.co.uk/comments/879
Section 8.3. The whole Article 8 is too detailed. So this is one of five Proposed Amendments all headlined NEW ARTICLE 8 and with active links to one another. Here at 8.3 it is accepted that Monetary Policy skills require a fine balance of financial understanding, transparency and high ethical standards. They also need to communicate well with Parliamentarians having a much broader remit. We like our operations done by a skilled surgeon and planes flown by good pilots - we have seen what happens when we leave it to lobbyists and the City financiers….
Proposed Amendment to Section 8.3.
Scottish Reserve Bank
Section 8.3. Section 8.3 There shall be a Scottish Reserve Bank, acting as Scotland's central bank, responsible for the administration of the National Currency and for implementing policy as instructed by the elected Government. It will be accountable to the legislative and executive branches of the Government. Its members will be nominated by a Public Appointments Commission and appointed by Parliament by a simple majority vote.