Opinion
Opinion: Schwarzenegger cuts wrong deal with tribes


"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came barreling into office three years ago opposing the unlimited expansion of Indian gambling, but now, unfortunately, he has switched sides. Though full-blown casinos can now be found on the edge of every metropolitan center in the state, the governor cut a half-dozen deals in the past few weeks to allow 23,000 more slot machines, the equivalent of eight Las Vegas casinos.

We need this like California needs 23,000 more smoke-belching diesel buses.

While Arnold justified the move by emphasizing that the new casinos would have to pay a sizable cut of their rake to the state, most of these deals favored the wealthiest tribes in California, small groups already cashing in to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Some of the favored tribes, like the Agua Caliente Band near Palm Springs, already operate two fabulously lucrative casinos, not to mention owning literally half the land in the Springs. Allowing them to open a third casino, as Schwarzenegger proposed, is as absurd as the IRS giving Tony Soprano an open-ended extension on filing his taxes.

Californians were suckered into approving Indian gambling in the last decade by a PR campaign that stressed “self-reliance”; that is, getting the oppressed tribes off welfare. But at this juncture, green-lighting more machines and more casinos for favored tribes already rolling in dough is a gross collective insult. Some of these tribes have shown themselves to be among the most cutthroat special interests in the state, often working together to deny poorer tribes the ability to compete. The Agua Caliente have also spent millions resisting unionization of their low-wage workers. The San Manuel tribe, which would triple their number of slots under the Schwarzenegger proposal to a staggering total of 5,500, is leading a national fight to deny Indian casino workers protection under federal labor law. These tribes argue that they should be allowed to pour hundreds of millions of bucks into buying influence in the American electoral process, but that when it comes to labor and environmental enforcement, they should be considered “sovereign” nations exempt from U.S. regulation. Anything else you would like with that cake, Chief?"

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Marl Cooper: Arnold's Bad Hand (The LA Weekly 9/7)
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