Scotland should be an independent country

I negate, Scotland should not become and independent country as Scotland's best interests will not be served with a split from the United Kingdom. I'll make my case this round, and attack my opponents arguments in the next. a) EuroChief Secretary of the Treasury Danny Alexander dismissed talk of an independent Scotland keeping the Pound Sterling as it's currency as utter nonsense[1]. If Scotland votes to leave the UK, it leaves behind the pound and most likely has to adopt the Euro, which is on the verge of collapse. Der Spiegel magazine explains that within 3 to 5 years[2] the Euro will collapse as Germany gets fed up with having to constantly prop up the Eurozone and it's fellow members irresponsible economic decisions. One of the top economic advisors to the German Chancellor, Kai Konrad, also gave the Euro a 5 year expiration date[3]. Valclav Klaus argues that the Euro has already "collapsed" in a sense as it has utterly failed to bring any benefit to it's memberstates[4], concluding that even if the Euro is kept alive due to it's symbolic importance to many European politicians, the cost of keeping it will be astounding: "The price of maintaining the euro will be low economic growth in the eurozone. Sluggish eurozone growth will result in economic losses in other European countries, like the Czech Republic, and in the rest of the world. The high price of the euro will be most visible in the volume of financial transfers that will have to be sent to eurozone countries suffering from the biggest economic and financial problems."Scotland will be voting to ship it's wealth to Greece and Spain if it adopts the Euro. One look at the embattled Germans sould provide the best argument as to why any wise country would choose to stay out of the Eurozone as soon as possible.Even if the Euro lasts longer than predicted, it's still in trouble as it brings down the financial viability of Eurozone members year by year. In terms of economic trouble, Scotland will be leaping from the puddle to the pond if it adopts the Euro. If Scotland wants the most sovereignty, it's best option is to remain in the UK where their representation is not so diluted and their economic decisions are not decided by a distant Brussels authority. All the political autonomy in the world matters not if the country is held on an economic leash by the European parliament. There's a reason Euroskeptic parties swept the most recent elections--the status quo is leaving the Eurozone languishing in stagnation, and something, somewhere, has to change. Scotland would do itself a favor by staying as far away from the mess rather than leaping into it head on. An even worse alternative would be Scotland trying to establish it's own currency, but this idea is so outlandish that virtually no one is advocatng it.b) Taxation and spending Scotland get's a lot of money from it's wealthier neighbors in the UK. The Guardian explains that according to a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies[5]:"More spending cuts and tax rises would be needed to ensure fiscal sustainability in an independent Scotland...The authors have calculated that while the UK as a whole would face a long-term fiscal gap – the difference between outgoings and receipts – of 0.8% of GDP, it would rise to 1.9% for Scotland."The Yes campaign relies heavily on the idea that the North Sea oil reserves can carry Scotland forever, but this is living in a fantasyland with offshore rigs reaching the end of their lifespan as the oil dries up. Moreover, The Guardian continues to explain that much of Scotlands resources are actually owned by companies and individuals out of country, meaning that Scotalnds wealth and potential financial viability is vastly overstated. Scotland would have to vastly decrease it's spending and increase it's revenue lest it lose all financial credibility. Moreover, Scotland *needs* subsidies from it's wealthy neighbors in order to keep it's aging population on the payroll or face an entitlement crisis similar to what's occurring in the United States right now. Scotlands universities would suffer from independence as they get hugely disproportional funds from the UK. Research shows that Scottish Universities would lose about 210 million pounds worth of funding should Scotland leave[6].That's all for now. Vote Con. Sources:1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk...2. http://www.spiegel.de...3. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk...4. http://www.cato.org...5. http://www.theguardian.com...6. http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk...