Some tribes win, but many lose
Re “Good bets,” editorial, Jan. 22
I originally voted for Indian casino gambling because I saw it as a method of righting past injustices to the tribes. Later, I saw self-serving TV ads by the various tribes, expensive lobbyists being hired by the tribes and fortunes spent by small tribes to influence voting for pro-Indian candidates. The original issues of poverty, education and alcoholism have not been addressed.
Now we are being asked to support propositions that increase tribal income but do not address the issues of organized labor or the desire of racetrack owners to allow slot machines that would help assure that thousands of track employees would keep their jobs and add tax revenue to the state’s coffers. I plan to vote “no” until I see an impartial chart that shows what has been spent to address the tribes’ social problems and the results compared to what is spent on lobbying, campaign contributions and advertising.
Harold Walter
Northridge
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The Times writes that Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 would bring “much-needed wealth to impoverished indigenous Californians.” Perhaps you are unaware that one tribe, the Agua Caliente, has earned more than half a billion dollars in tax-free profits since 2002. It seems this tribe is no longer impoverished.
Eric Nilsson
Professor of Economics
Cal State San Bernardino
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There are many things wrong with your editorial position on these propositions, but perhaps the most outrageous is the claim that the deals would aid non-gambling tribes.
These deals would concentrate one-third of the gambling revenue in the hands of just four out of 108 federally recognized tribes in the state. Plus they do nothing to increase money that goes to non-gambling tribes. We do not believe this is what voters intended when they approved Indian casinos.
My tribe is part of a statewide coalition of Indians and non-Indians urging voters to reject these propositions and send the parties back to the negotiating table to come up with better deals for all of us.
Nelson Pinola
Windsor, Calif.
The writer is tribal chairman of the Manchester-Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians.