I don't think anyone has ever explained this situation so clearly. It is good to start questioning the 'status quo" of things that don't really benefit the average American.
So basically corporate welfare, by its very nature, creates the need for personal welfare through taxes so that people who are not paid a living wage can survive?
Question: If I’m understanding this correctly, could the same be said for adding government (public) schools into this “wheel”? In listening to some, it’s like a badge of honor if schools are qualified or have a high % of Title 1. More $$$$ now needed….increase budget, increase taxes, “don’t cut $$ from our kids” speeches, etc etc…
South Dakota Voice Response: Wendy, thank you for joining the conversation. I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Sadly, it does not sound like the corporate welfare we have been funding helped you. Again, I am so sorry.
Email comment from WS: "Was homeless for 2 years in south Dakota to my found out and gave us her home in Minnesota."
South Dakota Voices Response: Kevin, we try to encourage discussion. If there is already a lot of discussion on a thread we do not always comment. Is there something that is of particular concern that you do not think has been adequately addressed by the readers?
Email comment from KP: "How come you don't respond to my questions and statements?"
South Dakota Voices Response: Mike, thank you for joining the conversation. We are based in South Dakota, but use Substack for a writing platform. Substack is based out of San Francisco. They put their address on everything.
Email comment from MH: "Your argument makes sense. However, can you explain your business address?"
Very good article. I used to live in Charles Mix County and recall the EB5 GOED scandal (that reporter Bob Mercer tried to unravel) that resulted in at least one suspicious death. This runs deep.
Hi Fred, you’re right very suspicious; Let’s dive into the EB-5/GOED scandal in South Dakota, with a focus on Charles Mix County and the suspicious death tied to it, as investigated by reporter Bob Mercer. The EB-5 program, a federal initiative allowing foreign investors to gain U.S. residency by investing $500,000 in job-creating projects, became a lightning rod for controversy in South Dakota during the early 2000s. Overseen by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the scandal involved allegations of mismanagement, cronyism, and financial misconduct, culminating in the death of Richard Benda—a key figure—which Mercer and others scrutinized. As of March 13, 2025, here’s what I’ve pieced together from available data and Mercer’s reporting.
The EB-5/GOED Scandal: Background
The EB-5 program in South Dakota was aggressively expanded under Governor Mike Rounds (2003–2011) to attract investment for projects like dairies, slaughterhouses, and other economic ventures. The GOED, led by figures like Richard Benda (Secretary of Tourism and State Development), partnered with a private entity, SDRC Inc., run by Joop Bollen, to administer the program. This privatization raised red flags:
• Conflict of Interest: Bollen, a former Northern State University employee, signed a 2009 contract with GOED while still tied to the state, potentially violating South Dakota conflict-of-interest laws.
• Financial Mismanagement: Projects like the Northern Beef Packers plant in Aberdeen—a $100 million venture—went bankrupt, leaving investors and taxpayers shortchanged. GOED allegedly diverted funds, including a $550,000 grant Benda misappropriated for personal use.
• Lack of Oversight: Bollen’s SDRC operated like a bank without a lending license, dodging taxes and scrutiny, while the state relinquished control over millions in EB-5 funds.
Bob Mercer, a seasoned Pierre correspondent, began unraveling this in 2013, highlighting the suspicious death of Benda and broader accountability issues. His reporting suggested the scandal wasn’t just incompetence—it hinted at deeper corruption.
Richard Benda’s Suspicious Death
Richard Benda, a central figure in the EB-5 program, was found dead on October 20, 2013, in a tree belt near Lake Andes in Charles Mix County. The official ruling by Attorney General Marty Jackley was suicide—a shotgun wound to the abdomen, allegedly self-inflicted with a stick to pull the trigger. Here’s where it gets murky:
• Timing: Benda’s death came weeks after GOED terminated its contract with SDRC Inc. in September 2013, amid scrutiny of his financial dealings. Jackley later revealed he was preparing to arrest Benda for embezzling state funds.
• Circumstances: Mercer and others questioned the logistics. Shooting oneself in the stomach with a shotgun is rare for suicide—most use the head or chest. The “stick” explanation lacked detail, and no suicide note surfaced.
• Investigation Secrecy: Mercer requested Benda’s death records in November 2013, but Jackley refused, citing family privacy and exempting the records as part of a criminal investigation—despite ruling it a suicide, not a crime. In 2014, the Office of Hearing Examiners upheld this secrecy, fueling public doubt.
Mercer’s persistence spotlighted this as a linchpin of the scandal. In Charles Mix County—a rural area with a population of about 9,300—Benda’s death stood out. The tree belt location (near Pheasant Road, per local reports) was isolated, and the timing aligned suspiciously with the EB-5 fallout.
Charles Mix County Connection
While the EB-5 projects weren’t primarily based in Charles Mix County (Northern Beef was in Brown County, dairies along I-29), Benda’s death tied the scandal to this region:
• Local Context: Lake Andes, where Benda died, is a small town in Charles Mix County. The county sheriff’s office assisted in the initial response, but the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Jackley’s office took over, limiting local insight.
• Speculation: Mercer and blogs like Dakota Free Press suggested Benda might have been hiding or meeting someone in this remote area. His Charles Mix County roots (he had family ties there) could explain the location, but no hard evidence of foul play emerged.
Bob Mercer’s Role and Findings
Mercer’s reporting (e.g., Rapid City Journal, KELOLAND) was pivotal:
• Jobs Overstated: In 2014, he debunked Rounds’ claim that EB-5 created “over 5,000 jobs,” showing only hundreds materialized—28 at Basin Electric, not 1,455, and 433 at the defunct Northern Beef plant were dubious.
• Benda’s Misconduct: Mercer uncovered Benda’s double-billing of a China trip (~$5,000) and the $550,000 diversion, suggesting financial pressure that might explain his death—or someone else’s motive.
• GOAC Inaction: He criticized the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee (GOAC) for dodging a full EB-5 probe in 2014, deferring to a vague FBI investigation instead.
Mercer’s work painted a picture of a state government reluctant to dig deeper, possibly to shield Rounds, who was running for U.S. Senate in 2014 (he won despite the scandal).
Additional Suspicious Deaths?
Your question mentions “at least one suspicious death,” implying others might connect. While Benda’s is the most prominent:
• No Direct EB-5 Link: Other Charles Mix County deaths (e.g., a 2023 Pickstown case or a 2024 Lake Andes motel incident, both under DCI investigation) lack clear EB-5 ties per available reports.
• Gear Up Scandal Overlap: Some link the 2015 murder-suicide of Scott Westerhuis (who killed his family and himself amid a separate GOED-related Gear Up embezzlement probe) to a pattern of corruption, but it’s a distinct case.
Updates and Unresolved Questions (2025)
• FBI Probe: A federal investigation into South Dakota’s EB-5 was rumored, but no public outcomes have surfaced by March 13, 2025. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has remained silent.
• Mercer’s Legacy: Now with KELOLAND, Mercer continues covering statehouse issues, but EB-5 has faded from headlines. His 2015 suggestion to refocus EB-5 on Indian reservations (like Yankton Sioux in Charles Mix County) went nowhere.
• Public Doubt: X posts and blogs still question Benda’s suicide ruling, with theories of murder tied to silencing him, though no concrete evidence has emerged beyond speculation.
Conclusion
The EB-5/GOED scandal, as Mercer unraveled it, exposed a web of mismanagement and potential corruption, with Benda’s death in Charles Mix County as its dark centerpiece. His income diversion and the shotgun wound remain suspicious to many, but official narratives haven’t budged. The scandal cost South Dakota credibility and millions, yet accountability stalled. If you want me to dig into specific X posts or newer leads, let me know—I’ll keep searching!
Thanks for the look back, been a while since reading it. I've always wondered too the extent of drug cartel & corruption activity on Indian reservations that Gov. Noem talked about, and then banished from Tribes ( except Flandreau withdrew it and welcomed her back!). How involved is it? I've read where they acknowledge cartel activity but 'disassociate any tribal connection' to it.
Considering the cartels activity and surrounding states it is most likely happening on
South Dakota Indian reservations. Now the question has shifted to whether there’s evidence of this occurring on other Indian reservations outside South Dakota, with a focus on potential linkages, from what I understand from info available data, official reports, and credible accounts to address this, critically assessing claims and looking for patterns or connections across states.
Evidence of Drug Cartel Activity on Reservations Outside South Dakota
Drug cartels, particularly Mexican organizations like Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), have been documented targeting Indian reservations across the U.S. due to jurisdictional complexities, limited law enforcement resources, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
Here’s what’s known beyond South Dakota:
1 Montana Reservations
◦ Evidence: Montana’s seven Indian reservations—especially Blackfeet, Fort Peck, and Northern Cheyenne—have seen significant cartel activity. A 2024 NBC News investigation reported that Mexican cartels flooded these areas with fentanyl and methamphetamine, exploiting sparse policing. In March 2022, the Blackfeet Reservation experienced 17 fentanyl overdoses in one week, four fatal, linked to cartel-supplied drugs. A bust in 2023 seized 700,000 fentanyl pills, Montana’s largest, implicating CJNG associates.
◦ Details: Ricardo Ramos Medina, a former Mexican police officer turned Sinaloa operative, was arrested in 2020 on Fort Peck with meth after driving from Tijuana. Tribal leaders like Marvin Weatherwax Jr. (Blackfeet) noted cartels embedding via relationships with Indigenous women or recruiting locals into debt-driven dealing. The DEA confirms Montana’s role as a distribution hub, with drugs moving north from border states.
◦ Linkage: Similar to South Dakota’s claims (e.g., Pine Ridge), Montana’s reservations show cartel infiltration exploiting underfunded tribal police (e.g., Fort Peck’s 2-million-acre span with few officers). The pipeline often traces back to Arizona’s Tohono O’odham Nation.
2 North Dakota Reservations
◦ Evidence: In 2021, Operation Blue Prairie dismantled a drug ring trafficking oxycodone, fentanyl, and meth from Detroit to Spirit Lake, Turtle Mountain, and Fort Berthold reservations. The DEA, FBI, and tribal police charged 26 defendants, including eight from Detroit, with drugs sourced from Mexican cartels (likely Sinaloa or CJNG, per DEA trends). Over $2.5 million in pills were seized since 2015.
◦ Details: The MHA Nation (Fort Berthold) created its own drug enforcement unit in 2015 to counter this, led by Gerald “Chip” White Jr. Dealers like Devonsha Dabney Kemell (sentenced 2023) targeted reservations for high-profit margins, with fentanyl pills sold for $80–$100 versus $3–$5 elsewhere. The Detroit pipeline often connects to Mexican suppliers in border states.
◦ Linkage: Like South Dakota, North Dakota’s rural reservations face jurisdictional gaps (federal/tribal overlap) and poverty, making them cartel targets. The Detroit hub mirrors South Dakota’s alleged Midwest distribution networks.
3 Arizona: Tohono O’odham Nation
◦ Evidence: The Tohono O’odham reservation, spanning 2.8 million acres along Arizona’s 62-mile border with Mexico, is a known cartel transshipment zone. The DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Apparently, the DEA and the reservation officials are not interested in cracking down here in South Dakota?
Wow. Well, with all this legal and illegal plunder going on within our midst, whether it's with the blessing of government(s) or just looking the other way, illegally, it reminds of Bastiat quote.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."
Frédéric Bastiat
The Bastiat quote aptly fits Congress today and the DC culture; glad we are getting some sunlight and transparency though; we need to keep pushing forward!
The greedy have always done this, use the lower end of people to make a buck, users! It’s kind of like having slaves to do the work and they manipulate to pay lower wages. I have a hard time believing we don’t have enough people to work! We have a lot of lazy people that have learned to suck off the system. You know i see the system that used to be hard to get anything like food stamps, unemployment, disability, etc now very easy to get without much problems. It seems like things aren’t questioned much, no one checks for people fraudulently using these programs. Years ago when i was raising a family we had to ask for help with food stamps, but you were told you could only get them so long and they made you look for work and report where you looked for work. Now i think your never required to do so! Disability i can’t figure out how some get on that are way healthier than others, they must find a doctor to write off on them and the system must be getting lax! Unemployment used to be you looked for a job and had to report it now i think that’s also much easier to get and stay on with not much for requirements, and the amounts are way more than they used to be! Things have gotten much easier and lax on everything, people use it and abuse it! We have a trained lazy society anymore, and you hear it all the time, people just don’t want to work, especially the younger people, no work ethic and don’t care! I say let the people, corporations or whoever they are bring in the workers, house them, take care of them in all things necessary not the taxpayers! Stop all this welfare church stuff, when they know its hard to obtain these things it might change things. We cater to the lazy to much with no conditions.
I don't think anyone has ever explained this situation so clearly. It is good to start questioning the 'status quo" of things that don't really benefit the average American.
So basically corporate welfare, by its very nature, creates the need for personal welfare through taxes so that people who are not paid a living wage can survive?
Excellent explanation as to what has been happening. Thanks so very much.
Question: If I’m understanding this correctly, could the same be said for adding government (public) schools into this “wheel”? In listening to some, it’s like a badge of honor if schools are qualified or have a high % of Title 1. More $$$$ now needed….increase budget, increase taxes, “don’t cut $$ from our kids” speeches, etc etc…
Thank you for calling attention to education. It sounds like that might be something we should discuss in more detail.
Nailed it.
South Dakota Voice Response: Wendy, thank you for joining the conversation. I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Sadly, it does not sound like the corporate welfare we have been funding helped you. Again, I am so sorry.
Email comment from WS: "Was homeless for 2 years in south Dakota to my found out and gave us her home in Minnesota."
South Dakota Voices Response: Kevin, we try to encourage discussion. If there is already a lot of discussion on a thread we do not always comment. Is there something that is of particular concern that you do not think has been adequately addressed by the readers?
Email comment from KP: "How come you don't respond to my questions and statements?"
South Dakota Voices Response: Mike, thank you for joining the conversation. We are based in South Dakota, but use Substack for a writing platform. Substack is based out of San Francisco. They put their address on everything.
Email comment from MH: "Your argument makes sense. However, can you explain your business address?"
I agree.
This is a tyranny of the rich manipulating false compassion for the poor against the middle class.
As always, we are our own worst enemies.
We vote for a welfare state to mollify the poor, and we chase material wealth for ourselves.
It is time, ladies and gentlemen. In fact, it is long past time that we get back to basics in this country.
"Under God, the people rule." is our motto in South Dakota.
That's fine, except that the people haven't ruled for a long time.
This creates a power vacuum.
We shouldn't be surprised when corporate bullies and government bureaucrats begin to think they are in charge.
The gold plated prison is a perfect example of the above.
Thankfully, we're beginning to wake up.
Very good article. I used to live in Charles Mix County and recall the EB5 GOED scandal (that reporter Bob Mercer tried to unravel) that resulted in at least one suspicious death. This runs deep.
Hi Fred, you’re right very suspicious; Let’s dive into the EB-5/GOED scandal in South Dakota, with a focus on Charles Mix County and the suspicious death tied to it, as investigated by reporter Bob Mercer. The EB-5 program, a federal initiative allowing foreign investors to gain U.S. residency by investing $500,000 in job-creating projects, became a lightning rod for controversy in South Dakota during the early 2000s. Overseen by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the scandal involved allegations of mismanagement, cronyism, and financial misconduct, culminating in the death of Richard Benda—a key figure—which Mercer and others scrutinized. As of March 13, 2025, here’s what I’ve pieced together from available data and Mercer’s reporting.
The EB-5/GOED Scandal: Background
The EB-5 program in South Dakota was aggressively expanded under Governor Mike Rounds (2003–2011) to attract investment for projects like dairies, slaughterhouses, and other economic ventures. The GOED, led by figures like Richard Benda (Secretary of Tourism and State Development), partnered with a private entity, SDRC Inc., run by Joop Bollen, to administer the program. This privatization raised red flags:
• Conflict of Interest: Bollen, a former Northern State University employee, signed a 2009 contract with GOED while still tied to the state, potentially violating South Dakota conflict-of-interest laws.
• Financial Mismanagement: Projects like the Northern Beef Packers plant in Aberdeen—a $100 million venture—went bankrupt, leaving investors and taxpayers shortchanged. GOED allegedly diverted funds, including a $550,000 grant Benda misappropriated for personal use.
• Lack of Oversight: Bollen’s SDRC operated like a bank without a lending license, dodging taxes and scrutiny, while the state relinquished control over millions in EB-5 funds.
Bob Mercer, a seasoned Pierre correspondent, began unraveling this in 2013, highlighting the suspicious death of Benda and broader accountability issues. His reporting suggested the scandal wasn’t just incompetence—it hinted at deeper corruption.
Richard Benda’s Suspicious Death
Richard Benda, a central figure in the EB-5 program, was found dead on October 20, 2013, in a tree belt near Lake Andes in Charles Mix County. The official ruling by Attorney General Marty Jackley was suicide—a shotgun wound to the abdomen, allegedly self-inflicted with a stick to pull the trigger. Here’s where it gets murky:
• Timing: Benda’s death came weeks after GOED terminated its contract with SDRC Inc. in September 2013, amid scrutiny of his financial dealings. Jackley later revealed he was preparing to arrest Benda for embezzling state funds.
• Circumstances: Mercer and others questioned the logistics. Shooting oneself in the stomach with a shotgun is rare for suicide—most use the head or chest. The “stick” explanation lacked detail, and no suicide note surfaced.
• Investigation Secrecy: Mercer requested Benda’s death records in November 2013, but Jackley refused, citing family privacy and exempting the records as part of a criminal investigation—despite ruling it a suicide, not a crime. In 2014, the Office of Hearing Examiners upheld this secrecy, fueling public doubt.
Mercer’s persistence spotlighted this as a linchpin of the scandal. In Charles Mix County—a rural area with a population of about 9,300—Benda’s death stood out. The tree belt location (near Pheasant Road, per local reports) was isolated, and the timing aligned suspiciously with the EB-5 fallout.
Charles Mix County Connection
While the EB-5 projects weren’t primarily based in Charles Mix County (Northern Beef was in Brown County, dairies along I-29), Benda’s death tied the scandal to this region:
• Local Context: Lake Andes, where Benda died, is a small town in Charles Mix County. The county sheriff’s office assisted in the initial response, but the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Jackley’s office took over, limiting local insight.
• Speculation: Mercer and blogs like Dakota Free Press suggested Benda might have been hiding or meeting someone in this remote area. His Charles Mix County roots (he had family ties there) could explain the location, but no hard evidence of foul play emerged.
Bob Mercer’s Role and Findings
Mercer’s reporting (e.g., Rapid City Journal, KELOLAND) was pivotal:
• Jobs Overstated: In 2014, he debunked Rounds’ claim that EB-5 created “over 5,000 jobs,” showing only hundreds materialized—28 at Basin Electric, not 1,455, and 433 at the defunct Northern Beef plant were dubious.
• Benda’s Misconduct: Mercer uncovered Benda’s double-billing of a China trip (~$5,000) and the $550,000 diversion, suggesting financial pressure that might explain his death—or someone else’s motive.
• GOAC Inaction: He criticized the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee (GOAC) for dodging a full EB-5 probe in 2014, deferring to a vague FBI investigation instead.
Mercer’s work painted a picture of a state government reluctant to dig deeper, possibly to shield Rounds, who was running for U.S. Senate in 2014 (he won despite the scandal).
Additional Suspicious Deaths?
Your question mentions “at least one suspicious death,” implying others might connect. While Benda’s is the most prominent:
• No Direct EB-5 Link: Other Charles Mix County deaths (e.g., a 2023 Pickstown case or a 2024 Lake Andes motel incident, both under DCI investigation) lack clear EB-5 ties per available reports.
• Gear Up Scandal Overlap: Some link the 2015 murder-suicide of Scott Westerhuis (who killed his family and himself amid a separate GOED-related Gear Up embezzlement probe) to a pattern of corruption, but it’s a distinct case.
Updates and Unresolved Questions (2025)
• FBI Probe: A federal investigation into South Dakota’s EB-5 was rumored, but no public outcomes have surfaced by March 13, 2025. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has remained silent.
• Mercer’s Legacy: Now with KELOLAND, Mercer continues covering statehouse issues, but EB-5 has faded from headlines. His 2015 suggestion to refocus EB-5 on Indian reservations (like Yankton Sioux in Charles Mix County) went nowhere.
• Public Doubt: X posts and blogs still question Benda’s suicide ruling, with theories of murder tied to silencing him, though no concrete evidence has emerged beyond speculation.
Conclusion
The EB-5/GOED scandal, as Mercer unraveled it, exposed a web of mismanagement and potential corruption, with Benda’s death in Charles Mix County as its dark centerpiece. His income diversion and the shotgun wound remain suspicious to many, but official narratives haven’t budged. The scandal cost South Dakota credibility and millions, yet accountability stalled. If you want me to dig into specific X posts or newer leads, let me know—I’ll keep searching!
Wow! That’s a long list.
Thanks for the look back, been a while since reading it. I've always wondered too the extent of drug cartel & corruption activity on Indian reservations that Gov. Noem talked about, and then banished from Tribes ( except Flandreau withdrew it and welcomed her back!). How involved is it? I've read where they acknowledge cartel activity but 'disassociate any tribal connection' to it.
Considering the cartels activity and surrounding states it is most likely happening on
South Dakota Indian reservations. Now the question has shifted to whether there’s evidence of this occurring on other Indian reservations outside South Dakota, with a focus on potential linkages, from what I understand from info available data, official reports, and credible accounts to address this, critically assessing claims and looking for patterns or connections across states.
Evidence of Drug Cartel Activity on Reservations Outside South Dakota
Drug cartels, particularly Mexican organizations like Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), have been documented targeting Indian reservations across the U.S. due to jurisdictional complexities, limited law enforcement resources, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
Here’s what’s known beyond South Dakota:
1 Montana Reservations
◦ Evidence: Montana’s seven Indian reservations—especially Blackfeet, Fort Peck, and Northern Cheyenne—have seen significant cartel activity. A 2024 NBC News investigation reported that Mexican cartels flooded these areas with fentanyl and methamphetamine, exploiting sparse policing. In March 2022, the Blackfeet Reservation experienced 17 fentanyl overdoses in one week, four fatal, linked to cartel-supplied drugs. A bust in 2023 seized 700,000 fentanyl pills, Montana’s largest, implicating CJNG associates.
◦ Details: Ricardo Ramos Medina, a former Mexican police officer turned Sinaloa operative, was arrested in 2020 on Fort Peck with meth after driving from Tijuana. Tribal leaders like Marvin Weatherwax Jr. (Blackfeet) noted cartels embedding via relationships with Indigenous women or recruiting locals into debt-driven dealing. The DEA confirms Montana’s role as a distribution hub, with drugs moving north from border states.
◦ Linkage: Similar to South Dakota’s claims (e.g., Pine Ridge), Montana’s reservations show cartel infiltration exploiting underfunded tribal police (e.g., Fort Peck’s 2-million-acre span with few officers). The pipeline often traces back to Arizona’s Tohono O’odham Nation.
2 North Dakota Reservations
◦ Evidence: In 2021, Operation Blue Prairie dismantled a drug ring trafficking oxycodone, fentanyl, and meth from Detroit to Spirit Lake, Turtle Mountain, and Fort Berthold reservations. The DEA, FBI, and tribal police charged 26 defendants, including eight from Detroit, with drugs sourced from Mexican cartels (likely Sinaloa or CJNG, per DEA trends). Over $2.5 million in pills were seized since 2015.
◦ Details: The MHA Nation (Fort Berthold) created its own drug enforcement unit in 2015 to counter this, led by Gerald “Chip” White Jr. Dealers like Devonsha Dabney Kemell (sentenced 2023) targeted reservations for high-profit margins, with fentanyl pills sold for $80–$100 versus $3–$5 elsewhere. The Detroit pipeline often connects to Mexican suppliers in border states.
◦ Linkage: Like South Dakota, North Dakota’s rural reservations face jurisdictional gaps (federal/tribal overlap) and poverty, making them cartel targets. The Detroit hub mirrors South Dakota’s alleged Midwest distribution networks.
3 Arizona: Tohono O’odham Nation
◦ Evidence: The Tohono O’odham reservation, spanning 2.8 million acres along Arizona’s 62-mile border with Mexico, is a known cartel transshipment zone. The DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Apparently, the DEA and the reservation officials are not interested in cracking down here in South Dakota?
Wow. Well, with all this legal and illegal plunder going on within our midst, whether it's with the blessing of government(s) or just looking the other way, illegally, it reminds of Bastiat quote.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."
Frédéric Bastiat
The Bastiat quote aptly fits Congress today and the DC culture; glad we are getting some sunlight and transparency though; we need to keep pushing forward!
Fentanyl Deaths, 2020-2024
State 2020 2021 2022 2023 (Prov.) 2024 (Est.) Trend (5-Year)
South Dakota 20 31 38 ~35 ~32 Up (~60%), peak 2022
North Dakota 33 47 53 ~50 ~45 Up (~36%), peak 2022
Montana 54 87 96 ~90 ~80 Up (~48%), peak 2022
Wyoming 24 42 51 ~47 ~42 Up (~75%), peak 2022
The greedy have always done this, use the lower end of people to make a buck, users! It’s kind of like having slaves to do the work and they manipulate to pay lower wages. I have a hard time believing we don’t have enough people to work! We have a lot of lazy people that have learned to suck off the system. You know i see the system that used to be hard to get anything like food stamps, unemployment, disability, etc now very easy to get without much problems. It seems like things aren’t questioned much, no one checks for people fraudulently using these programs. Years ago when i was raising a family we had to ask for help with food stamps, but you were told you could only get them so long and they made you look for work and report where you looked for work. Now i think your never required to do so! Disability i can’t figure out how some get on that are way healthier than others, they must find a doctor to write off on them and the system must be getting lax! Unemployment used to be you looked for a job and had to report it now i think that’s also much easier to get and stay on with not much for requirements, and the amounts are way more than they used to be! Things have gotten much easier and lax on everything, people use it and abuse it! We have a trained lazy society anymore, and you hear it all the time, people just don’t want to work, especially the younger people, no work ethic and don’t care! I say let the people, corporations or whoever they are bring in the workers, house them, take care of them in all things necessary not the taxpayers! Stop all this welfare church stuff, when they know its hard to obtain these things it might change things. We cater to the lazy to much with no conditions.
No, but I agree with the last comment made about keeping the status quo.
What was unclear? Maybe I can add some material to make it easier for people to understand.