Ron Allen: Tribal gaming revenues go to government programs

Friday, December 2, 2011  

"It's probably just a sign of our desperate economic times, but it is still a head-scratcher to hear some elected officials calling on a group of the state's most impoverished people to help bail out state government.

There is an increasingly popular perception that Washington's Indian tribes are rich, flush with ever-flowing cash from their casinos, and that it's all tax-free. The Seattle Times and others have suggested the tribes share some of that revenue with the state ["State budget crisis demands political courage," editorial, Opinion, Nov. 27].

The perceptions are false. Many of Washington's tribal members live on reservations or nearby in communities in the state's most remote areas, far from employment and educational opportunities. They lack access to basic services like good health care, housing, transportation and telecommunications."

Get the Story:
W. Ron Allen: Tribal gaming revenues are well used for government, human and charitable services (The Seattle Times 12/2)