Posted on 02/18/2004 2:54:33 AM PST by Zunt Toad
The communities were declaring their independence; the people of those communities were asserting that no man was born--to use the language of Mr. Jefferson--booted and spurred, to ride over the rest of mankind; that men were created equal--meaning the men of the political community; that there was no divine right to rule; that no man inherited the right to govern; that there were no classes by which power and place descended to families; but that all stations were equally within the grasp of each member of the body politic. --Jefferson Davis, Farewell Speech to Congress, 1861
Grab your guns and throw on your gray jacket. There's a secession afoot-- but, no, none of that Confederacy stuff. This is a Rebellion of the 1770s school: Taxation without Representation.
The town of Killington, Vermont (population: roughly one-thousand), is attempting to secede from the Green Mountain State and join New Hampshire. The town, however, does not refer to it as such, preferring the term "rejoin." After all, Killington was a proud member of the Granite Colony for sixteen years before Vermont even existed. Killington was established in 1761; Vermont, 1777.
So why would Killington want to leave the progressive haven of Vermont? Mostly, it has to do with the state's liberal excesses. In 1997, the state issued Act 60, a revision to the tax code that forced the sole Killington public school out of the town's power and under the state's control--a move that concomitantly raised taxes on local businesses to an exorbitant level and bankrupted establishments all over town.
Killington could not take it. Selectmen Michael Miller and Walter Findeisen (whose taxes quadrupled since the passage of Act 60), as well as Town Manager David Lewis, resorted to the last viable option for the town. Despite a location thirty miles from the border, they want to rejoin New Hampshire and the tax-free refuge it provides.
"It's a sign of desperation," said Bill Radaker, the proprietor of Bill's Country Store in Killington, "People are sick of paying unfair taxes." He delivered a passionate tirade while wrapping up a wedge of cheese in plastic, but, though he was angered by the tax codes, he realized the improbability of secession. He reiterated that, because of Act 60, "people... who just have regular jobs have to move out or shut down."
Killington has attacked this "disproportionate and inequitable taxation" through all three districts of the state government. The town proved victorious at the Superior Court level, but was later shut down by the Vermont Supreme Court. And subsequently, the State Legislature (the same one that came up with Act 60) refused to take up the town's case. Vermont's Governor, the Good Doctor Howard Dean, completely ignored the entire issue, leaving Killington with only one choice left: secession. After all, Article 10 of the New Hampshire Constitution adamently declares that "the doctrin of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and opression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind."
I trekked to Killington, home to a popular ski resort, to see what popular support there was for the rejoining. I wanted to speak to the voters and to the victims.
Killington is basically two different towns. There is the modern area with sterile glass buildings and condos--largely the domain of skiers. Further from the mountain, however, is a quaint New England town, with white churches, sideboard buildings, and middle-aged men clad in Cosby sweaters.
June Hughes Buttner, owner of The Boutique at Killington, a small gift shop, criticized the tax codes for "penalizing [the citizens of Killington] for having a good school." The school, which was funded by a town-run nonprofit group before being taken out by Act 60, has fewer than ninety students. Yet it costs Killington $20 million a year! At the same time, it's getting smaller because families are moving out. "These taxes," she said, "are unethical. We help the economy."
Peter Gilmore, the cheery owner of Killington Accommodations, seemed ecstatic about the revolution. "Wouldn't you like us over there?" he exclaimed, upon hearing I was from Dartmouth. Like Radaker, however, he realized the futility. When asked the chances of a secession actually happening, he put his index finger and thumb in the shape of a circle and said, "About this much."
After meeting with several business-owners, I asked David Lewis, the Killington Town Manager a few questions. He has been the driving force behind the secessionists. On looks alone, he appeared too gentle and meek to be a Jefferson Davis or a Robert E. Lee. Yet he spoke so ardently about saving his little hamlet from unfairness that he came off as a laudable freedom fighter in the same ranks. "This is not a frivolous thing," he implored, "We hope it will succeed, but we realize it is a longshot."
He explained that, because Killington has such a small population, there is little concern for the welfare of the town in Montpelier. To the state government, Killington is a "golden goose," with a huge contribution and almost no upkeep. The government is afraid to listen to any of the city's disagreements because, he continued, "then they would have to take the tax issue seriously." Lewis further described the State Legislature as "left- wing and socialist."
Before I departed, I told him I supported his efforts to repeal the state legislation; it was hard to resist the sparkle in his eye and his impassioned rhetoric. He looked rather confused, however, as if to ask "Are you really from Dartmouth?" I explained that I was from The Dartmouth Review, and he seemed comforted.
The vote will reach the Killington Town Council meeting on March 2nd. If it succeeds there--as it probably will, given the popular support--it will go to Montpelier,where it will almost assuredly be red-taped and shut down.
Somewhere between Buttner's thoughts that the town was "mainly Conservative" and Lewis' relief that I wasn't a "radical liberal"--despite my status as a Dartmouth student--it hit me. Killington does not belong in Vermont. It deserves more than the "flatlanders," the term that native Vermonters apply to the imported liberals that continue to invade their state. Killington belongs to a state where traditional values are still upheld. Killington belongs in New Hampshire.
It will happen eventually if things do not change.
Oh, how the best intentions...
He's our kind of people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.