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Opinion: Lumbee Tribe does better without federal assistance
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Filed Under: Opinion | Recognition

"Now here comes John Stossel, fellow WND columnist, over the weekend of March 26 with one of the best pieces in television history: "Freeloaders," a Fox News special delivering stomp-down proof that Indian tribes that are not recognized as tribes by the government and get no federal handouts are more successful than those on the federal dole. Stossel visited the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, whose members get nothing from the government. They're generally successful in business. Many live in luxury mansions. In contrast, the Indians embraced by the feds live in what look like tar-paper shacks.

In boxing, John Stossel's interview with Elizabeth Homer, who used to be the government nanny of the recognized tribes, would have been canceled as a mismatch or halted on a TKO early in Round 1. She was pitifully unable to defend government stewardship over Native Americans as anything but the failure of socialism.

I'll never quit thanking Stossel for giving me Part 4 of my standard answer to the question, "How can you flat-out say that capitalism is better for the masses than socialism?" Up to now I've had three examples: free and prosperous Finland, which began its national life simultaneously with its dysfunctional Communist Russian neighbor; West Berlin, delivering mortal embarrassment to Communist East Berlin every day of the latter's existence; and Hong Kong, when it was British and free right next to Communist China. Now I add: the Lumbees, up against all the tribes spoon-fed by Washington.

So, pleasure-wise, what's in this for me? Unless Stossel over-Googled, I'll bet you he didn't know something real nice about the Lumbees, whose independent prosperity he covered so splendidly. It's something I've known for years."

Get the Story:
Barry Farber: John Stossel and my pleasure jolts (World Net Daily 3/30)

Related Stories:
Chairman of Lumbee Tribe wants HUD to audit housing funds (3/29)
Council at Lumbee Tribe fires administrator hired by chairman (3/25)
Lumbee Tribe moving toward shutdown in dispute with chairman (3/10)

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