I had a reader send me his comments on what he thinks of Sanford lending a hand in Ghana.
South Dakota has 9 Sioux Indian reservations. I sure don’t need to tell you or the Senator that these are among the most impoverished, desperate venues in the entire USA. Diabetes is rampant, as are alcoholism, suicide, violent crime, domestic violence. Â Sky-high unemployment, hopelessness and despair are pervasive.
In the face of all this need, Sanford is exporting its energies, its income and expertise to locations far-flung from the Dakotas.
ALL of the gross revenues of Sanford Health are generated in the Dakotas. These are direct and indirect taxpayer funds consisting of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, third party health plans, and even include Sanford’s own health insurance company from which it generates premium dollars and subsidizes its own health care system. To my knowledge, all of the real properties owned by Sanford are exempt from real property taxes. All of the net revenues of Sanford are excluded from federal income tax. Sanford receives police and fire protection, the services of state and local governments, and the protections of the laws at the federal, state and local levels. Sanford contributes nothing directly for the benefits it receives.
During the Guilded Age, those who set the historical background for true philanthropy in the USA first accumulated their assets through private efforts and private intitiative. Here, with Sanford Health, we have a “non-profit†corporate enterprise that is directly and indirectly subsidized and funded by the taxpayers.  If Sanford has this kind of largesse at its disposal, the citizens of South Dakota deserve to have it spent here to benefit the citizens who have sacrificed to make it possible.
I dare say that Sanford could either eradicate or greatly reduce the effects of diabetes in the Native American population of South Dakota if only it had the mind to do so. The public must demand it. A non-profit corporation is not a private business to be exploited by its owners with no public accountability – ‘by Atticus’
I couldn’t have said it better myself.