With the support of Sen. Chris Dodd, D.-Conn., the federal government has awarded $54 million to Connecticut’s politically well-connected Mohegan Indian tribe, which operates one of the highest grossing casinos in the U.S. The tribe runs the sprawling Mohegan Sun casino, halfway between New York City and Boston, which earned more than $1.3 billion in gross revenues in 2009. Each tribe member receives a cut of the profits, a number a tribal official said was “less than $30,000” per capita per year. The stimulus money is a loan from a U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development program that is meant to help communities of less than 20,000 people that have been “unable to obtain other credit at reasonable rates and terms and are unable to finance the proposed project from their own resources.”
Lynn Malerba, chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, defended the award of the stimulus loan to the tribe, and said that every member of Connecticut’s seven-member Congressional delegation except one had provided assistance in securing the funds. “The whole Connecticut delegation, I think aside from [Rep.] Jim Himes, who was traveling, sent a letter in support.”
I think the answer to this is to raise taxes…yes, we definitely we need higher taxes.
… the article is slanted anti-native-american, trying to insinuate that tribes don’t need loans to do infrastructure and construction updates. Then it finally states that none of the loans (LOANS, YOU ASSHOLES) are to be used for casinos or gambling-related projects.
So, this article is attempting to tar the democrats with something, but fails massively.
If it were republicans, they wouldn’t be loans and they’d be going to BP. As for all of you native-american hating libs, shut the hell up.
I honestly thought better of the people on this blog, but I seem to be destined for disappointment.
Jim sputtered, “(LOANS, YOU ASSHOLES)”
Um, many don’t want their hard earned $ taken, wrung through a corrupt, inefficient bureaucracy and then have the fraction that is left, loaned to others.
#31–Jim==I think I’m the only one who came close to spouting native american hating liberal sentiments.
My point: we are all Americans, all the same. Artificial constructs called “reservations” are insulting to anyone who thinks we are all the same.
There was some other tribe that was down to 20 or so members==just about to go extinct by assimilation. Then some big money got behind the 20 and this “tribe” was allowed to buy other private land and erect a casino on it. Given the law, some of the profit has to go to these indians per the normal course of events. As it became known that if you were 1/16th (or whatever) Chickamungawhaheely Injun (or whatever), more and more people claimed their pound heritage. Today I think there are over 500 people fighting for their indian heritage.
Its all BS.
Absent the BS of Indian Gambling, reservation are a welfare system that has sapped those calling themselves indians of all their natural humanity. Don’t like the grinding poverty of reservation life?===leave the fuc*ing reservation like the rest of us have.
Live for today/tomorrow==not yesterday.
I blame the Democrats for this porkulus spending. How did the Democrats get the power to be corrupt and spend wastefully? Easy. The Republicans angered the voters by going to Congress and spending wastefully and being corrupt.
I picked a party based on the party’s platform. It’s a shame I cannot expect either party to stick with their own platform.
Anyone else hear the sound of the john flushing as this nation and the people living in it go down the drain?
If the people posting the above are typical Americans we have the government we deserve and bleep on earth is what we are going to get when the money for the spending binge is finally all spent and nobody can pay the bills.
We won’t even be able to pay for a can of beans to fill our empty bellies much less the electric bill.
Just because these people make as much as $29,999 per year doesn’t mean they don’t need help to get a mortgage or other loan. That is what the money is going to according to the chunk of article above. And it is a loan that will no doubt earn interest for the Feds. Good work stimulus bill!
How come of all the tribes in the USA, MY TRIBE is forbidden by Federal law to open a casino?
Seems unfair.
#36. Uh, that’s $29,999.00 without having to lift a finger. Get a job on top of that and you have a decent standard wage.
The Utes here in Colorado have the same type of deal, approx. $57K per year without having to work, (lots of gas wells here, owned by BP BTW). The local college is also free. Most do work and have a decent standard of living. The Navajos just south of me didn’t get that deal. Nothing but sand and coyotes there.
On a slightly lighter note
#13 Chuck said
“Put it all on Black 23” Let it ride
lol obviously not a punter 23 is red.
Here’s how to work what colour a number is
Add each number together & if result is odd the number is red & if even the number is Black
ie: 23 = 2+3=5=odd number=red
17 = 1+7=8=even number=black
Also crazy to let it ride….the best bet in any casino is walk in, put your entire stake on red or black on the roulette table, then win or lose walk away
BTW the total of all the number on a roulette wheel is 666
#38, What about the fact that it is a loan from the feds to help get money for people who couldn’t get loans. If you have a decent job in addition to the per capita then you probably wouldn’t qualify for this money so how is this pork at all? The Ho-Chunk casinos make good money in WI but other than the per capita their programs only help those tribe members who are in real need (poor people). Nothing about this screams pork to me especially considering the tribes should be collecting rent from all other people living on the continent.
Oh please, how can you argue that one party is better than the other. Is there a difference anymore or has there ever been? As far as I am concerned they are all corrupt. Fire them all!!!
#40. That type of thinking is what got us into this financial mess to begin with, or don’t you remember. If you don’t qualify for a loan, there is a reason for that.
With a job supplementing the 30K given, you should be able to live comfortably Unless you live beyond your means, and that’s a personal problem. throwing money at a problem does not work.
I don’t get the hypocrisy. The Republicans are crying the Government is not doing enough to alleviate the recession. Yet, when they do something that will create jobs all the tea baggers come out of the wood work spouting crazy things about gifts to casinos.
I don’t know the details of this, the article didn’t spell them out. What is apparent though is the headline and comments are wrong.
Does accuracy mean anything to the right wing nuts?
#43. Hah! No surprises here. Partisan idiot.
Do I really have to point out what you people call a democracy is a colossal failure? Power corrupts. Always.
I suppose you idiots would rather see the $54 million go to something less profitable? The grant is not using YOUR tax dollars at all, it’s using tax dollars that the casino is pumping into the community already which makes it’s way back to Washington in taxes. The money also keeps businesses around this casino in business. Media just loves to jerk all you pea brains around with this lie of “your tax dollars” and you all buy it. It’s so laughable.
#46.
wow,
SOMEONE THAT READ THE ARTICLE.
I havnt posted here from a number of reasons.(I dont think I did).
But, I will say something..
YOU ARE BEING TESTED.
READ THE HEAD LINES..
READ THE ARTICLE..
OR BE STUPID.
There are to many they read a head line and the Shorts, but NOT what is being put in the Article..
NOT being critical of what is SAID and happening..
A heading of, “Dog Slaps girl”
would make you all say? COOL a Dog with thumbs.
Please, start READING the articls and MORE THEN 1, opinion of the incident.(Which is hard to do sometimes).
THEN,
follow up[ and SEE if the correct thing happened. IF’ the money went to THOSE IN NEED, or into POCKETS of AHOLES.
The government takes your money, then let’s you beg for some of it back. That is, after they get their taste.