Pros and cons, anybody got something to add.
So far I have the following:

Cons.
Out of the €
No more EU money, grants etc
Banks due to pull out http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/09/18/inenglish/1442584444_390340.html

Pros.
Barca will not be allowed into the Liga - gives my team a chance to win the Champions League

Cons
The weakest selfish argument I can see for independence is over the amount they pay in as opposed to the amount they receive back from the state. The system works like that so the richest industrial areas(the north) are helping support the poorer areas(the south). This is how a group or collective is supposed to work. So much for the socialist and communist ideals.

Or  the very worst case scenario occupation or civil conflict. Some factions of the army have already demanded the tanks be sent in.
Better get your stock of flags in. 1 Union flag, 1 Spanish National flag and 1 Catalan national flag on the shopping list. : /
Bruixot

Thanks Simon

"This is an incredibly important topic. It needs dealing with in an important way by people who are qualified to talk reasonably and calmly."

And therein lies the problem - not that I am close to the situation, but I was amazed last weekend to hear a close (and well respected) Barceloní purport to say that almost all media here in Catalonia was brainwashing the great unwashed with stories of the benefits of independence.

He had no confidence in the people at the top making the decisions being any more or less corrupt than those that preceded them.

In other words - they could not be trusted not to feather their own nests.

I would submit that they were not sufficiently qualified to steer the great ship Independencia.

"May you live in interesting times" - Ancient Chinese Curse...

And now for a view from another Catalan friend.

He is voting for independence because he will accept anything as a price to pay for ridding himself from Madrid's control.

He is educated and realises the risks, but would prefer anything to being part of a state that he sees as 'the Great Evil'.

Just another viewpoint.

Unfortunately, the whole situation is beyond reasonable debate. It has turned into an emotional issue where people believe what they want and ignore any inconvenient facts. This is true of both the Catalan independence movement and the Spanish government.

The Catalan independence lobby has lied continuously if consistently about the the consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence and a large section of voters is happy to believe they can have their cake and eat it. The Spanish government on the other hand has frankly misjudged the strength of feeling or even worse doesn't care what the Catalans think.

A summary of the political situation now is that if the independence parties win the elections they will declare independence. The Spanish government has called general elections for December and the ruling PP party will use this declaration to wrap themselves in the Spanish flag and stand as defenders of unity of the nation. Doing anything else will mean the end of that party so the likely outcome is that the central government will come down like a ton of bricks on the Catalan government.

Most Catalans think they won't dare, that the EU will intervene but no European country will stop a legitimate government from enforcing the constitution and the law. Certainly they might send a diplomatic note asking for moderation and that will be it.

I watched an utterly unconvincing interview with the very eloquent and charming Raul Romeva (leader of the somewhat uneasy coalition for independence) on BBC News' 'Hard Talk' a week ago.  He did his best to dress up excuses as reasons for independence but ultimately they did not wash.  The coalition is, for the most part, left leaning so the (best) argument for retaining rather than sharing the wealth created here was somewhat facile.  Having, gingerly, addressed the topic with Catalan friends you can't help but get the feeling that the desire for independence is heartfelt rather than logical and that the practicalities to achieve their desires are OTT or heavy handed at best with little, if any, understanding of the ultimate consequences. 

Madrid would do well to recognise a ground swell of opinion in this locale but I remain to be convinced that it is, ultimately, in both - or more importantly either - parties' best interests.  Somehow it just seems illogical to express a desire to leave Spain but remain in the EEC.  Either you do want independence or you don't!

That may be what some politicians think but I'm not too sure the mob will see it that way once they backtrack.

Oh dear oh dear, where do people get their information from?

Will Catalunya have to leave the EU?  Well in fact no one knows.  There is no precedent for this and in fact just last week the EU ombudsman spoke out against the EU politicians who have been happily saying that the EU would throw out a nation like Catalunya because nowhere in the EU statutes is this set out.

https://euobserver.com/institutional/130741

It has been said that companies and banks would leave Catalunya in droves.  In fact just before the elections this is what Banco Sabadell declared... only to then take it back after the elections and to then state their intention to remain in Catalunya whatever happens.

http://www.lavanguardia.com/economia/20140923/54415326253/banc-sabadell-no-conte...

In fact as recent statistics have shown foreign investment in Catalunya is higher than ever before.

http://www.cataloniavotes.eu/foreign-investment-in-catalonia-sets-new-record/

The idea of import/export tariffs is ludicrous when you consider that Spain exports most of its goods through Catalunya, they are going to apply tariffs that will penalise their own industry?  I think not.

Catalunya without the payments it has to make to Madrid would enjoy a surplus of payments.  There would be a surplus in Social Security payments, something unheard of in Spain.  It would be able to finance itself, we are the richest region in Spain and have been for years.

Several Nobel prize winning economists and others have publically supported the idea of Catalan independence calling on it as a way of creating an economic motor for the South of Europe.

http://www.elconfidencial.com/economia/2013-09-18/harvard-apoya-la-independencia...

Indoctrination in schools?  In fact I am afraid that I this is a bit of a misnomer, there is a lot of indoctrination in schools but not much in favour of an independent Catalunya.  Most comes from the curricular changes imposed from Madrid.  Your kids study religion, Catholicism that is, and now that has become an examinable subject, etc, etc.

The debate is fascinating but it is surrounded and permeated by rumour, publicity and political manouvering.

I don't think anyone I know thinks that Convergencia and Mas are innocent of earning the 3% commission they are accused of.  But to investigate it now is a blatant case of political influence on the courts.  Mas is also investigated for the vote of the 9th of November.  A vote that no court opposed at the time.  In fact not one of the judges of the Catalan Constitutional Court made a case against the vote but now its president has insisted that a legal investigation be carried out.  This is making a mockery of the Spanish legal system.

In the recent elections the parties for independence achieved a majority for declaring independence.  Wait I know, not a majority of votes you say.  But this wasn't a referendum it was an election.  In an election you don't count votes, hell the PP are in power with just under 24% of the Spanish popular vote and they have an enormous majority.  The Catalan government wanted a referendum but that was banned.  So an election, now they want to count votes?  A little late I think.  The government in Madrid has had the whole thing blow up in its face.

In fact Madrid could easily defuse the Catalan problem.  If they went soft, made concessions and respected the laws already made (there are several constitutional court decisions concerning the estatut of Catalunya that Madrid has always ignored which is also illegal) then the independence majority would wane, but they can't.  Bashing Catalunya is immensely popular in Spain and will win the PP the next national election in December.  It would seem that in order to win nationally they are happy to lose Catalunya.

Anyway enough, I am loving the whole process!!