much of the money we get fromnWashington we spend on things wendon’t need in order to get funds fornthings we do need. Top it off with thenrealization that every dime we get backnover and above what we pay in isnborrowed money (deficit money).nEven some of the original one dollarnwe pay in taxes probably comes back innbad (borrowed) money. In other words,nif the deficit is over 15 percent of thenbudget, then 15 percent of our federalnpayback is borrowed money. In ordernto give us back $1.15 for every $1.00nwe pay in, the federal governmentnwould have to borrow 17 cents. Innthese terms, Vermont’s “great deal”nlooks like this: for every dollar Vermontersnpay in federal taxes, we getnback 98 cents in cash and a loan of 17ncents. If we kept our original buck wencould decide whether or not to borrownan extra 15 cents on our own termsnand we could spend the whole thing asnwe see fit.nIt is true that Vermont benefits fromnsomething we might call “national infrastructure,”nthe most obvious examplenof which is the defense budget.nThe interstate highway might be anothernexample. But remember this.nThe interstate system was built undernthe National Defense Highway Act.nWe paved over a good deal of Vermontnin large part because Washingtonnneeds these roads (or so they said) tondefend America. Against what? Annattack from Canada? Soviet troopsnsled-dogging it over the polar ice cap?nThink of the Vermont tax dollarsnthat go into the U.S. defense budgetnnow. Vermont will need no army afternsecession. A couple of dozen morenstate troopers and a militia organizednfrom local fire and rescue organizationsnat no expense to the Republic will benenough. American tanks rolling intonBennington? It’ll never happen. All wenhave to do is simply assert our independencenand leave. Our very act ofnsecession will be our greatest strength.nWe have an open border to the northnto a country that owes us for ournbenign neglect during the War of 1812nand to a province of that country withnsecessionist ideas of its own.n”It takes big government to solve bignissues”: the Star Wars argument. Mynopponent in the secessionist debates,nVermont Supreme Court Justice JohnnDooley, stated that “Acid rain won’t benended by cute little nations like a newnRepublic of Vermont.” Wrong. Thenhistory of the last two decades hasnshown an increasing incapacity of thenfederal government to make progressnwhere real conflict among the statesnexist.nThe federal government likes ton”facilitate” cooperation and then takencredit for natural impulses for consensusnthat are locally inspired. It is thenstates and localities that are “puttingnWashington to shame,” as one publicationnrecently put it, in the field ofnenvironmental protection. In Vermontnwe find again and again that Washingtonnis a hindrance to attempts to protectnthe environment. Nowhere is thenprinciple that mediocrity is the best youncan hope for when problems and benefitsnare diffused over large systems morenapparent than in environmental protection.nIt can be argued, for instance,nthat the federal government caused thenacid rain problem because it was forcednto compromise over smokestacks andnscrubbers when it sought to protectnMidwestern cities from their own pollutionnin the 1970’s.nThe fact of the matter is that Vermont’sninfluence as an independentnRepublic would be vastly greater thanneven the best efforts of our Senators innWashington can produce. Internationalncooperation rather than mfra-nationalnaction is the emerging dynamic innenvironmental policy. The 21st centurynmust develop a global perspective onnthe environment. Both Vermont andnthe world of nations would benefitnfrom our active and equal participationnin this perspective.nGREAT TOPICS, GREAT ISSUESnFamily Liberation — October 1990 — Edwin Westnon restoring family autonomy in education, LeonardnLiggio on how the Total State undermines bothnfamily and religion, John Wauck on Allan Carlson’snThe Swedish Experiment in Family Politics, andnThomas Fleming on how moral regulation is a surensign of state despotism. Plus Aime Marie Morgan onnabortion and parental consent, and David Slavitt onnDick Tracy.nGood News — December 1990 — Eight reasons whynthings aren’t as bad as you think: by George Garrett,nE. Christian Kopff, Chilton Williamson Jr., JanenGreer, Odie B. Faulk, Harold O.J. Brown, JohnnShelton Reed, and Janet Scott Barlow. Plus argumentsnfor happiness from Thomas Fleming and KatherinenDalton, George Core on George Garrett’s ChristophernMarlowe novel, and Murray Rothbard on ThomasnSowell’s “affirmative scholarship.”nDiscovering the Past — February 1991 — ForrestnMcDonald on the study of history, M.E. Bradford onnthe Constitutional Convention, and Charles Causleynon the role the past plays in his poetry. Plus GeorgenGarrett on John Vpd’iie’s Rabbit at Rest, FredChappellnon the best and worst of Donald Hall, David Slavittnon the life and work of O.B. Hardison, and ThomasnFleming on modem American verse.nTITLEnAmerican Nationalism and the Global Village —nNovember 1990 — Clyde Wilson on Americannnationalism, Samuel Francis on race and group identitynin the “new nationalism,” and Theodore Pappasnon the national service debate. Plus James BondnStockdale on the tragedy of Vietnam, William Hawkinsnon international trade and protectionism, and R. CortnKirkwood on the congressional fight for more extensivenidentification papers.nSecession — January 1991 — Tomislav Sunic onnglobalism and the right of self-determination. BillnKauffman on why Upstate should secede from NewnYork City, and Thomas Fleming on Italy’s examplenof unity through division. Plus Theodore Pappas onnMartin Luther King Jr.’s doctoral dissertation, AllannBrownfeld on Pat Buchanan and his critics, and J. 0.nTate on the correspondence of Andrew Lytle, AllennTate, and Robert Lowell.nSouthern Writing — March 1991 — George Garrettnon the state of Southern letters, Madison Smartt Bellnon the short story, Dabney Stuart on Fred Chappell,nFred Chappell’s story “Ancestors,” and poems bynJames Seay and R.H.W. Dillard. Plus Henry Taylornand Kelly Cherry on Southern poetry, George Corenon the literary quarterlies, and Steven Goldberg onnthe teaching of sociology.nBACK ISSUE ORDER FORM Each issue $5.00 (postage & handling included)nFamily LiberationnAmerican Nationalism andnthe Global VillagenGood NewsnSecessionnDiscovering the PastnSouthern WritingnName.nCity_nDATEnOctober 1990nNovember 1990nDecember 1990nJanuary 1991nFebruary 1991nMarch 1991nAddress _nQty. CostnTotal Enclosed $nState. Zip_nMail with check to: Chronicles • 934 N. Main Street • Rockford, IL 61103nnnJnAPRIL 1991/47n