In honor of January 2017 – Vermont Independence Month (as declared by the Vermont State Legislature) AND the 240th anniversary of the 1777 founding of the 1st Vermont Republic – we are calling on all Vermonters of good will to join our nonpartisan open source network of Vermont’repreneurs dedicated to building a “resistance and resilience” program here in the Green Mountains around these 12 key initiatives.

Let’s “absent” ourselves from the U.S. of Empire, and co-create – peacefully, lawfully, joyfully – an independent and sovereign 2nd Vermont Republic together.

PLAN V

1. FINANCE: Establishing a Vermont Public Bank or equivalent to promote expanded access to credit, support for entrepreneurial initiatives, and job creation for Vermonters.

2. FUEL: Powering a Vermont-wide decentralized town-by-town networked electricity grid by harvesting renewable energy from participating Vermont businesses and residences, and aggressively promoting public transportation alternatives to the current fossil fuel status quo.

3. FOOD: Growing Vermont’s diverse working landscape by legalizing hemp and cannabis, making credit available for young agri’preneurs interested in expanding Vermont’s agricultural opportunities, and promoting permaculture techniques for more resilient Green Mountain communities.

4. EDUCATION: Promoting personalized learning plans (PLPs) for every Vermont pupil, and creating a “communiversity” in every Vermont high school supporting citizen-taught courses in self-improvement, community resilience, and civic participation. Supporting free education for all Vermont citizens through 12^th grade, and affordable public college and graduate school education.

5. GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY: Combining new digital tools with traditional Vermont “town meeting” democracy to create more open, participatory and transparent governance at the local and state level.

6. ELECTION INTEGRITY: Protecting and expanding the time-honored Vermont town tradition of voting through hand-counted paper ballots in full public view by local boards of civil authority.

7. SURVEILLANCE-FREE CITIZENRY: Championing legislation banning all forms of corporate and state electronic surveillance in Vermont, including the use of spy drones and the illegal monitoring of Vermonters’ private electronic correspondence (including but not limited to email, text and phone messages), as well as exploring encryption options for the protection and privacy of all Vermont citizens’ electronic information.

8. PUBLIC ELECTION FINANCING: Supporting “rank choice voting” for elections, and outlawing private campaign contributions and dedicating an annual 2 dollars per Vermonters to two separate public trust election accounts – one maintained by the county ($1) and the other by the state ($1) – with the fund being divided into equal parts for each eligible candidate running for public office, ensuring that elections are powered by ideas, rather than money.

9. HOMESTEAD SECURITY: Supporting Vermont’s tradition of hunter safety by promoting appropriate training and safe use of firearms for Vermont’s citizenry.

10. COMMONS CREATION: Advocating the creation and maintenance of a Vermont “Commons” to protect all that we Vermonters share in common: our air, our water, our land, and our property, both individual and communal.

11. ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY: Affirming that Vermont’s natural environment is the basis of the unique high quality life we enjoy, and protecting the integrity of our natural communities, ecosystems, waters, climate, air, land and soils, plants, and wildlife. Championing the “precautionary principle” to guide development decisions, and for fully funding protection and restoration measures already enacted.

12. “SANCTUARY NATION”: Protecting civil liberties and promoting “live and let live” tolerance for all hard-working Vermont citizens and guests of good will, regardless of race, gender, caste, creed, or religious affiliation.

Please email your questions, ideas, suggestions to us at publisher@vermontindependent.org.