Today’s Raleigh News & Observer carries an interesting and clever quote from the chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The paper reports that in a letter to Gov. Easley requesting approval to expand gambling activities in Cherokee, Chief Michell Hicks played the incentive card, but in a way we’re not used to seeing. The incentives game has become so insidious that companies send their employees to workshops to learn how to pressure states and localities for packages. But the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have chosen the opposite approach to their negotiations.
“Please remember,” the chief wrote, “that unlike other businesses offering economic development opportunities to the State, we request no incentives. We only need your approval.”
