Opinion: Minnesota tribes can't shoulder state budget

Thursday, February 26, 2009  

"The state of Minnesota has a revenue problem, and Rep. Steve Drazkowski apparently believes the state’s 55,000 Indian citizens should solve it.

According to his recent column Rep. Drazkowski thinks Minnesota Indian tribes should renegotiate their gaming compacts because the state needs more money.

Evidently, it didn’t occur to Rep. Drazkowski that all Minnesotans should share equally in solving the state’s fiscal problems. Instead of suggesting a tax increase, which might spread the burden more fairly, he just wants the tribes to step up and voluntarily renegotiate the deals that are giving them opportunities and hope for the first time in 200 years.

In his argument for compact renegotiation, Rep. Drazkowski fails to suggest a single reason why renegotiating would be in the tribes’ best interest. Any tribal official who put the state’s interest ahead of their own community’s welfare would be subject to recall or impeachment in a heartbeat. Their responsibility is to protect their people and revenue.

Rep. Drazkowski would likely suffer the same fate if he were to voluntarily hand over revenues or government aids from his own district to subsidize another."

Get the Story:
John McCarthy of Minnesota Indian Gaming Association: Stop calling on tribes to bail Minnesota out (The Red Wing Republican Eagle 2/25)