PUTNEY — When Dick Cheney was running the country, it was clear his “chaos theory” was guiding international policy.
The chaos within the borders of an unfriendly nation would occupy the powers-that-be, who would be preoccupied with civil unrest to the extent that it precluded other actions, domestic or international.
In the current domestic climate here in the United States, there seems to be a similar sentiment running through certain political thoughts and actions - namely, acting on the premise that no government is better than some government.
It doesn't matter how they get to “no government,” be it through the ballot box or a government shutdown.
We can now see why such chaos is being fomented and what's being covered up.
Despite claims of economic duress by those of certain political persuasions, economic data now shows that executive pay in the United States jumped 23 percent in 2010.
Not bad, despite the claims that President Obama's economic policies are a disaster.
The median pay for executives was $9.6 million, with Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman's salary appearing at the top of the list. According to The Wall Street Journal, he pulled down $84.5 million, more than double what he earned in 2009, thanks to $54.3 million in one-time stock and options awards he received as part of an employment contract renewal.
The “trickle-down” effect that supply-side economists have long predicted from tax cuts and deregulation isn't happening, and hasn't happened for more than 30 years.
Despite record efficiency by American workers, their pay is stagnant. Meanwhile, corporations are hoarding their profits instead of using them to create more jobs and to increase economic growth. They've stashed an estimated $2 trillion, which simply is not being put back into the U.S. economy.
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Meanwhile, these fat cats have launched a political campaign to blame unions and public servants for the economic distress that state governments are experiencing.
It happened decades ago, when unions were fighting for things like the five-day, 40-hour work week, or for vacations and benefits, and the bosses screamed that such things would put them out business.
Instead, in the years after World War II, we saw the greatest economic expansion in history and the creation of a strong middle class.
Lately, an old union joke has resurfaced and is making the rounds.
The management and workers are sitting down a conference table getting ready to negotiate a new contract. Someone brings in a tray with a dozen cookies on it. Just then, someone who looks like a cross between Ralph Kramden and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie enters the room, pockets 10 of the cookies, and on his way out the door says to one of the workers, “Watch out for that union guy. He wants some of your share.”
To blame unions for our economic travails ignores the elephant of corporate pay and benefits that is sitting in every negotiating room in the United States.
And, right alongside, sit the corporate jets, oil company profits, and corporate welfare queens like Minnesota U.S. Representative Michelle Bachmann, who has milked hundreds of thousands of dollars in farm subsidies while railing against government giveaways.
Which brings me back to little ol' Vermont.
Our unemployment rate is the envy of most other states, albeit historically high by Vermont standards, and our economy is slowly climbing out of recession.
Our state government is not being shut down by those who would risk economic stability and recovery to score political points, and create political and economic smokescreens.
And Vermont is now showing leadership to the nation on how we can balance the economic demands on our budget against caring for our environment, providing care to our elders and children, and planning for the future - a future that will have strong economic growth in the new green energy field and a health-care system that increases health outcomes and controls costs.
So why aren't other states, and our federal government, doing likewise? Isn't the common good, as espoused by our nation's founders, what we strive for together?
Chaos allows the corporations to run wild and operate above the laws the rest of us have to obey.
Some see the consolidation of wealth and power, as ascribed by a Neo-Calvinist god, as their clarion call about how to run the country.
If it is good for the corporation, it is good for the nation, these people believe. If it takes chaos to achieve this vision, then so be it.
I'm glad to be here in Vermont where we are showing a different way - a way forward into the future that is civil, and sustainable, for people and our environment.