Friday, April 29, 2011

IS RELIANCE ON GAMBLING A "BLACK HOLE" FOR MINNESOTA?

The April 28 edition of the Star-Tribune carried a provocative commentary by Chaska Minister Gordon C. Stewart of Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church. It is reprinted here in full:

Are we taxpayers or citizens? Taxpaying citizens?

The Legislature is considering revenue from expanded gambling as a way to fill the pothole in the state budget. Opponents and proponents have focused on everything but the underlying premise that created that pothole in the first place.

Slowly, over time, drip by drip, the foundations of the most basic assumption about who and what we are -- the language that made us a democratic republic -- has eroded, until today we can barely see the republic's shadow.

Once we defined ourselves as "citizens," responsible for ourselves and the common good. Now we define ourselves as "taxpayers." Once we were Minnesotans and Americans, responsible for paying the state's and nation's bills with the sweat of our brows.

Now we are possessors whose freedom to stare at a slot machine is assaulted by taxes. We are independent operators, free agents who might get lucky, who see taxes as evil. We look to the goodness of casinos, racinos, lottery tickets, slot machines and a gambling mentality to pay for the common life.What too often goes unsaid is that we are all tax beneficiaries.

Before I leave my home, I am a tax beneficiary. My water and sewerage, my electricity, my gas, my fire protection, the peace officer who patrols the neighborhood -- all are partly or totally paid for by taxation. Every time I drive somewhere on a public road, I am a tax beneficiary, dependent upon public services. Every time I shop for safe food or safe prescription drugs, or eat at a restaurant, I am a tax beneficiary every bit as much as I am a taxpayer.

We are all taxpayers. Everyone who lives in this country -- citizens and undocumentedmworkers alike -- pays taxes at the gas pump, at the store, etc. What the antitax mantra endorses is a privatization that sees me and mine independently from the rest of the society on which my daily life depends.

Those who decry being taxpayers, in fact, are either making the case that we should all be free-loaders -- tax beneficiaries who don't pay our fair share -- or that Minnesota and America should embrace a free market free-for-all, most fully expressed, perhaps, in the drug wars in Mexico.

Every time I hit a pothole, every time the streets go unplowed, every time essential services are cut back, all of us taxpayers lose the benefits of a nation that once defined us as responsible citizens.

The proposal to fill the pothole in Minnesota's budget with gambling is but the latest erosion in the sense of responsible citizenship. It threatens to turn the pothole into a political, economic and spiritual black hole.

It prolongs the illusion that real freedom is freedom from the responsibilities of citizenship. Drip by drip, it is turning us into a Third World nation where nobody but the blank-staring gamblers pay, and no one but the no-tax drug lords benefit.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

MIGA JOBS RALLY DRAWS 3,000 TRIBAL SUPPORTERS



Despite rain, cold winds and 40-degree temperatures, an estimated 3,000 tribal employees, tribal members and supporters gathered on the mall in front of the Minnesota State Capitol yesterday to highlight their concerns about potential tribal job losses if the state legislature authorizes slot machines at licensed racetracks in Minnesota. The “Don’t Gamble with Our Jobs” rally was organized by

the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA).


Rally participants came from every reservation in Minnesota, and from urban and rural communities across the state. More than 55 buses lined the streets near the capitol building as the event got underway.


Chairman Kevin Leecy of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa said the tribes felt it was important to show legislators how many people are worried about losing their jobs to state-sponsored competition.


“More than 40,000 people in Minnesota depend on tribal gaming, directly or indirectly, for their jobs,” Leecy said. “Some of us could be forced to lay off as much as one-third of our work force if we end up with state-sponsored racinos right in our own backyards.”

The racino bills currently under consideration place no limit on the number of licensed racetracks in Minnesota that could become racinos.


In addition to Chairman Leecy, speakers at the rally included Upper Sioux Community Chairman Kevin Jensvold, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Secretary-Treasurer Curt Calk, and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Chairman Stanley Crooks. Legislators of both parties and several tribal casino employees made brief remarks.


Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), also addressed the rally.


“Looking out at this great crowd, I see Indian and non-Indian people standing side by side, fighting for their jobs in tribal gaming,” Stevens said. “We thank you for being here, and for supporting the great work that these tribes are doing for their own communities and for their neighbors. We’re all in this together.”


Chairman Stanley Crooks of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community closed the program by thanking participants, and expressing special gratitude to the employees of his own tribe who were present.


“Without you, we would never be able to do the things we do,” said Crooks. “Over the years you have not worked for us but with us. We are so thankful for your loyalty and support.”

MIGA Executive Director John McCarthy said no matter what form gambling expansion takes in Minnesota, the state’s Indian tribes will be hurt.


“Minnesota is a mature gaming market, with very little room for growth,” McCarthy said. “That means the state-sponsored casinos will just shift existing business away from tribal facilities. When tribes start losing revenue, they’ll not only have to lay off employees, but they’ll also have to cut essential programs and services for their members. It’s a lose-lose situation for tribal governments and Native American families, as well as our gaming and government workers.”


A hearing on the House racino bill was set for yesterday, but postponed due to the illness of the committee chairman. Tribal representatives are expected to testify as House and Senate versions of various expansion bills work their way through the legislative process in the coming weeks.


“We’re fighting an uphill battle, but the tribes are used to being in that position,” McCarthy wryly observed. “Somebody’s always after us, it seems.”

_____________________________

Rally Speakers

Former Rep. Frank Moe, Master of Ceremonies

Rep. Roger Crawford (R), Mora

Rep. Paul Thissen (D), Minneapolis

Sen. Tom Bakk (D), Cook

Sen. John Howe (R), Redwing

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D), St. Paul

Rep. Lyle Koenen (D), Clara City

Rep. Tony Lourey (D), Kerrick

Chairman Kevin Leecy, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa

Chairman Kevin Jensvold, Upper Sioux Indian Community

Chairman Stanley Crooks, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

Curt Kalk, Secretary-Treasurer, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

Beth Hanley, Grand Casino (Mille Lacs Band) employee

Robbie Sawyer, Grand Casino (Mille Lacs Band) employee

Richard Hermanson, Prairies Edge Casino (Upper Sioux) employee

Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA)

Sunday, April 24, 2011

TRIBAL EMPLOYEES TO RALLY AT CAPITOL ON TUESDAY

Tribal employees, vendors and supporters will hold a "Don't Gamble With Our Jobs" rally on the steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday (April 26) at 1 pm. The event is designed to highlight the fears of thousands of tribal employees who could lose their jobs if the legislature adopts any of the gambling expansion proposals now on the table.

Tribal leaders and legislators of both parties will make brief remarks during the event. Former State Representative Frank Moe will serve as master of ceremonies.

Proposals to authorize racinos at racetracks and slots in neighborhood bars have the potential to cause huge revenue losses to Indian tribes, said John McCarthy, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA).

"These proposals are job-killers, especially for rural Minnesota," McCarthy said. "Once the legislature opens the expansion floodgates, thousands of tribal employees will lose their jobs and benefits. That's why they're coming to the Capitol on Tuesday--they want the legislature and the public to understand what's really at stake in this expansion debate."