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Mohegan Sun Casino Owners Received $54 Million In Stimulus Money

apdst

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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.

Do we really wanna turn Obama's boys lose with $20 billion and expect them to spend it wisely?

I can't help but recall one Libbo poster saying that the stimulus is, "long term investment in infrastructure". Does this look like, "infrastructure", to anyone?
 
Do we really wanna turn Obama's boys lose with $20 billion and expect them to spend it wisely?

I can't help but recall one Libbo poster saying that the stimulus is, "long term investment in infrastructure". Does this look like, "infrastructure", to anyone?

Well, first of all telling us what your source is would be pretty sweet. Second, my opinion on this would depend on what they're doing with the money. You gave zero details on that front. So what exactly are you expecting us to comment on?
 
Links to story
FOXNews.com - Dodd Helps Casino Earning $1.3B Get $54M in Taxpayer Money
Mohegan Sun casino owners received $54M in stimulus cash - NYPOST.com
Mohegan Sun Casino Owners Received $54 Million In Stimulus Money - ABC News

Not all of the above can be agitators for the right wing of the GOP, at least one might be telling the truth!!

Dodd Helps Casino Earning $1.3B Get $54M in Taxpayer Money.

Which I suppose gives anyone the right to question whether this is Chicago Politics again or will this money be used for something productive to the US economy?
 
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And with what evidence does anyone question the explanation from the Mohegan Tribe folks? Sounds like they are restarting a loan program for rural development and some sort of construction project.

There's a lot of projects working off stimulus money. Why does this one raise a flag?
 
Possibly because beyond a few words to placate folk who might feel offended, there is nothing concrete proposed, no grand building, or erection of a statue to the great messiah or some such project.
All we get are vague promises to do something?
 
Possibly because beyond a few words to placate folk who might feel offended, there is nothing concrete proposed, no grand building, or erection of a statue to the great messiah or some such project.
All we get are vague promises to do something?

Of the thousands of stimulus projects that do random little things that need fixing across the country, you're suspicious of this one because there's no grand project announced nationwide?

No, really, ask yourself: Why is this project suspicious to you?
 
Of the thousands of stimulus projects that do random little things that need fixing across the country, you're suspicious of this one because there's no grand project announced nationwide?

No, really, ask yourself: Why is this project suspicious to you?

We all know why it's suspicious. IS this the new line from DNC HQ? "Hey operatives, on the Dodd/Mohegan Sun deal, yeah turn the issue around on people."

Of the $54 million to the Mohegan tribe, $31.5 million will be used to construct an educational center and $22.2 million to build a community center, according to the Agriculture Department.
Foxnews.

Sounds great eh? Well except that money was supposed to not help billion dollar profit casino's with PR projects.

The stimulus money -- a loan from a Department of Agriculture rural development program -- 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."

Read more: Mohegan Sun casino owners received $54M in stimulus cash - NYPOST.com
 
This sounds pretty fishy to me.

First of all, why is the Mohegan tribe receiving the money when it's clearly designated for "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?" From everything I can figure out, the tribe is not "the community;" the community is Uncasville, CT (which is a part of a larger township known as Montville Town). Why is this money not going to the town of Uncasville (and/or Montville) itself?

According to the Mohegan tribe's webpage, "Currently there are about 1,700 Tribal members." According to the US Census, in 2000, Montville had a population of 18,546, only 270 of which were Native Americans, so I ask again, why is the tribe receiving this money (1700 people) when the actual community consists of far more non-tribal members than tribal members?

Beyond this, can anyone explain to me how this tribe, which earned over a billion dollars last year is "unable to obtain other credit at reasonable rates and terms and are unable to finance the proposed project from their own resources?"

I call foul.
 
This sounds pretty fishy to me.

First of all, why is the Mohegan tribe receiving the money when it's clearly designated for "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?" From everything I can figure out, the tribe is not "the community;" the community is Uncasville, CT (which is a part of a larger township known as Montville Town). Why is this money not going to the town of Uncasville (and/or Montville) itself?

According to the Mohegan tribe's webpage, "Currently there are about 1,700 Tribal members." According to the US Census, in 2000, Montville had a population of 18,546, only 270 of which were Native Americans, so I ask again, why is the tribe receiving this money (1700 people) when the actual community consists of far more non-tribal members than tribal members?

Beyond this, can anyone explain to me how this tribe, which earned over a billion dollars last year is "unable to obtain other credit at reasonable rates and terms and are unable to finance the proposed project from their own resources?"

I call foul.

They had revenues of over 1 billion dollars, they did not earn 1 billlion dollars
 
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My mistake. They made $53.6 million in casino profits last year.

My questions remain valid and unanswered.

Here's another interesting tidbit: the tribe previously received $20 million in loans from the USDA.


This whole deal sounds verry hinkey.


This is a loan, that has to be paid back is it not. It is not a gift to the tribe, but a loan they are expected to pay back, and it is a loan they will be able to pay back
 
This is a loan, that has to be paid back is it not. It is not a gift to the tribe, but a loan they are expected to pay back, and it is a loan they will be able to pay back

So what? My questions remain valid and unanswered.
 
So what? My questions remain valid and unanswered.

I would think it matters a great deal dont you


Mohegans are not being given any money, they are just getting a loan, one they are expected to and should be able to pay back

If it was a grant, I could see the concern as they clearly dont need free government money. But it is not free money. Provided they pay it back the government will make money from this
 
Mohegans are not being given any money, they are just getting a loan, one they are expected to and should be able to pay back

My questions remain:

Why do the Mohegans get this loan, when they do not constitute even a tiny portion of the whole of their community/town?

Given their massive annual profits, why can't the Mohegans obtain credit at reasonable rates and terms through the usual channels? If no one will reasonably lend to them, it would seem to indicate a significant credit risk, wouldn't you think?

Given their massive annual profits, why don't the Mohegans finance projects with their own resources? There are surely thousands of other communities that need more stimulus help than this very wealthy Indian tribe.

Hinkey.
 
My questions remain:

Why do the Mohegans get this loan, when they do not constitute even a tiny portion of the whole of their community/town?

Given their massive annual profits, why can't the Mohegans obtain credit at reasonable rates and terms through the usual channels? If no one will reasonably lend to them, it would seem to indicate a significant credit risk, wouldn't you think?

Given their massive annual profits, why don't the Mohegans finance projects with their own resources? There are surely thousands of other communities that need more stimulus help than this very wealthy Indian tribe.

Hinkey.

The real question Glinda, is what interest rate is the Gov't giving them, and what would the market give them. IF the Gov't loan is say... 1.5% and the market is 3%... there is your reason for this, the corruption.
 
My questions remain:

Why do the Mohegans get this loan, when they do not constitute even a tiny portion of the whole of their community/town?

Given their massive annual profits, why can't the Mohegans obtain credit at reasonable rates and terms through the usual channels? If no one will reasonably lend to them, it would seem to indicate a significant credit risk, wouldn't you think?

Given their massive annual profits, why don't the Mohegans finance projects with their own resources? There are surely thousands of other communities that need more stimulus help than this very wealthy Indian tribe.

Hinkey.


How would they be a credit risk if they are making massive profits?

And would you rather the government loan to money to a group that cant pay it back or a group that has the means to pay it back
 
The real question Glinda, is what interest rate is the Gov't giving them, and what would the market give them. IF the Gov't loan is say... 1.5% and the market is 3%... there is your reason for this, the corruption.

The stimulus money -- a loan from a Department of Agriculture rural development program -- 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."
I think it is obvious that the interest rate on the loan is below market rates, as that is part of the intent of the program, to provide funding for projects that can not get loans at reasonable rates
 
How would they be a credit risk if they are making massive profits?

That's the question. Why can't they get reasonable loans on their own? Just because the government's stimulus funding might be at a lower rate does not mean they cannot get "credit at reasonable rates and terms." It just means they don't want to pay market rates. Wanting million-dollar loans on the cheap doesn't qualify for stimulus funding, so far as I know. In this case, it would seem that having someone from congress in your pocket is all that's required.

And would you rather the government loan to money to a group that cant pay it back or a group that has the means to pay it back

Your statement indicates that you believe the government would just as eagerly make similar loans to communities that would have no chance of repaying. I'm fairly certain the feds look into such things before putting millions at risk.

And none of this explains why a tribe of 1700 people who rake in more than $50 million annually is receiving stimulus loans, instead of the actual "community" in which they live. Again, I'm left to conclude that having someone from congress in your pocket is all that's required.
 
The real question Glinda, is what interest rate is the Gov't giving them, and what would the market give them. IF the Gov't loan is say... 1.5% and the market is 3%... there is your reason for this, the corruption.

That's your idea of corruption, eh? Loans. Loans at a good rate are corruption.
I bet you'd say exactly the opposite if there was an (R) in the White House.
 
That's the question. Why can't they get reasonable loans on their own? Just because the government's stimulus funding might be at a lower rate does not mean they cannot get "credit at reasonable rates and terms." It just means they don't want to pay market rates. Wanting million-dollar loans on the cheap doesn't qualify for stimulus funding, so far as I know. In this case, it would seem that having someone from congress in your pocket is all that's required.



Your statement indicates that you believe the government would just as eagerly make similar loans to communities that would have no chance of repaying. I'm fairly certain the feds look into such things before putting millions at risk.

And none of this explains why a tribe of 1700 people who rake in more than $50 million annually is receiving stimulus loans, instead of the actual "community" in which they live. Again, I'm left to conclude that having someone from congress in your pocket is all that's required.

Perhaps the actual community in which they live represents a bad credit risk, which is why they didnt get a loan (if they applied for one that is)
 
That's your idea of corruption, eh? Loans. Loans at a good rate are corruption.
I bet you'd say exactly the opposite if there was an (R) in the White House.

Let's use simple math kids to see the corruption!!!

54,000,000 at 3% interest rate = 1,620,000!

54,000,000 at 1.5% interest rate = 810,000!

And that's just a basic look see for ease. How it would all translate over the course of the loan is for those more interest rate inclined among us. I just pulled numbers out for example, since we don't know in this case. If the loan is at market rates then... well what do I know.

And can they right off this project in their taxes? It is after all a "community project"


But the point still stands, if the loan is at a lower rate then market, the Casino is saving potentially millions in interest rates at the expense of small towns across America and the US Tax Payer.

But what do you care? The Senator in Question has a -D
 
I went to a loan site, that allowed me to do a 30 year, 10,000,000 loan at 3%

The payments came to, for jsut 50 million (for ease of MY math) $7,588,872

For a 1.5% was 3,794,436.

So that's like 3.9 MILLION saved over a 30 year loan.

I guess when it's tax payer money, that doesn't count in your mind.
 
I went to a loan site, that allowed me to do a 30 year, 10,000,000 loan at 3%

The payments came to, for jsut 50 million (for ease of MY math) $7,588,872

For a 1.5% was 3,794,436.

So that's like 3.9 MILLION saved over a 30 year loan.

I guess when it's tax payer money, that doesn't count in your mind.

Stop and think for a minute

Who is doing the lending, the government, who collects the interest the government. Provided the government can get the money at a cost lower then what it is lending it out at it is making money on the loan. Ergo the loan does not cost any taxpayer money. In fact it could make the taxpayer money, golly gee a good program that benifits the taxpayer rather then hurts them
 
Stop and think for a minute

Who is doing the lending, the government, who collects the interest the government. Provided the government can get the money at a cost lower then what it is lending it out at it is making money on the loan. Ergo the loan does not cost any taxpayer money. In fact it could make the taxpayer money, golly gee a good program that benifits the taxpayer rather then hurts them

:blink:

Is that your final answer?

:blink:

Seriously, you think the Gov't giving loans out... is a good idea? And you don't see the problem with politicians have the power to "help" certain groups get these fantastic low cost loans?

:blink:
 
:blink:

Is that your final answer?

:blink:

Seriously, you think the Gov't giving loans out... is a good idea? And you don't see the problem with politicians have the power to "help" certain groups get these fantastic low cost loans?

:blink:

Generally no, governments should not be in the banking industry.

Which does not change the fact that the government could very well profit from this deal
 
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