Editorial: State obligated to help Catawba Nation

Thursday, March 29, 2007  

"When the Catawba Indian Nation threatened to open a video poker casino on its York County reservation if the Legislature didn’t let it open a video bingo mega-casino at Santee, even some staunch gambling opponents wanted to hoist the white flag.

That never made sense to us. It always seemed clear that state law and a treaty the Catawbas signed with the state prohibited the video poker casino. And even if a court saw it differently, the York County casino would do much less damage than one at the intersection of interstates 95 and 26, which would offer exponentially larger, gaudier and more addictive gambling options.

Fortunately, it never made sense to the Legislature either. And last week’s unanimous ruling by the state Supreme Court vindicated those lawmakers who wisely and repeatedly rejected the bizarre Chicken Little calls to approve high-stakes bingo.

This should put an end to any serious talk about authorizing the video bingo facility, since the only reason most lawmakers were even considering doing so was to avoid the threat of video poker in Rock Hill.

But it shouldn’t end the discussion.

Some people have backed the bingo casino not because they’re enthralled by gambling but because they think the state owes something to the Catawbas or needs to let the town of Santee help itself. They were wrong about methods, but right about the goals.

Becoming a gambling operator with the lottery was a wretched decision for our entire state, but it especially hurt the Catawbas, who had bet their economic well-being on a less enticing form of gambling. It was a bad gamble, but one our state had encouraged them to make, and one our state undercut with the lottery. We have a moral obligation — and a self-interest — to help the tribe pursue better economic development options.

It’s also in our state’s interest to help Santee, and countless other communities that are dying off as the economy changes, jobs move away and the most talented residents follow them. For too long, we’ve paid lip service to helping poor, rural communities, while concentrating our money and energy on prospering cities."

Get the Story:
Ruling should end Santee bingo plan, prompt better ones (The State 3/29)
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