TRIBE: Praise isn't warranted

Every other year, those who attend a Republican fundraising dinner will hear a rousing speech from our governor who boasts that while other states spend more than they bring in, he is proud to have held the line and didn’t sign a budget until it was balanced with no deficit spending. Ignoring the rousing applause from the audience, I always wonder why he doesn’t mention that the Idaho Constitution requires a balanced budget.

Likewise, when the Coeur d’Alene Tribe sends the press a release that proudly shows that the tribe has in their great benevolence given money to “education” I tend to gag a little. Each tribe (called a dependent nation-state by the U.S. government) is required to enter into a gaming compact with the state they are in in order to have a casino. In Idaho, the tribes are required to give 5 percent of their net profit to educational entities, which is one of the weakest compacts in America.

To see the Coeur d’Alene Press simply print the tribe’s press release giving accolades to themselves is disheartening, especially since Idahoans are prohibited from even verifying the tribe’s actual compliance with the compact.

Which reminds me, last week the tribe was selling gas at a discount exactly equal to the alternative gas tax they agreed to collect and use on their roads so as not to undercut stations that actually pay for the roads leading to their casino.

Isn’t it time to end the corruption and disingenuous posturing and self-praise?

LARRY SPENCER

Kootenai County