Posted on 08/17/2004 5:58:48 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
One day after their first meeting, U.S. Senate hopefuls Barack Obama and Alan Keyes were back on the campaign trail again Monday.
Speaking at a news conference at the Hotel InterContinental in Chicago, Republican Keyes added to his now familiar talking points his stance on slavery reparations.
Prompted by a reporter's question, Keyes gave a brief tutorial on Roman history and said that in regard to reparations for slavery, the U.S. should do what the Romans did: "When a city had been devastated [in the Roman empire], for a certain length of time--a generation or two--they exempted the damaged city from taxation."
Keyes proposed that for a generation or two, African-Americans of slave heritage should be exempted from federal taxes--federal because slavery "was an egregious failure on the part of the federal establishment." In calling for the tax relief, Keyes appeared to be reaching out to capture the black vote, something that may prove difficult to do, particularly after his unwelcome reception at the Bud Billiken Day Parade Saturday...
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
This is new. I'm having a hard time buying that this story is true.
I am all for getting rid of tax's. For all but if only for blacks that is OK too.
Sounds like the anti Keyes.
I think the Feds have run roughshod over all the citizens, eh? Hey....it's worth a try....
Well, regardless... it's been a couple of generations.
I suspect inaccurate reporting, or interpretation.
Dan
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Strangely enough, this makes sense! Tax relief for the slaves. LOL!!!!!!!
Ok, so because I am related to many Union soldiers who died while freeing the slaves, I get a tax break too???
I think I like it.
Nice! Before everyone gets all up-in-arms over the word "reparations", think about how a proposal like this would absolutely hogtie the Kennedy-left. What??? A TAX-CUT!??? FOR MINORITIES!!????
Oh, the squirming that would follow. What a brilliant way to pump money back into the economy while undercutting the Democratic disdain for all things that take money from the government vault and distribute it to the private sector.
I'm sure we can all find a protected class umbrella to get under....
LOL! They can keep mine since my family only had a total of 3.
The LAND they took (around 3,400 acres) is another matter.
How about they be forgiven taxes levied by the former confederate states? Blacks still owe the federal government big time for the incredible expenditure of money and lives during the civil war which was fought to gain their freedom.
Not a serious suggestion, of course, but probably a little more to the point than blaming your liberators for your prior condition of servitude...
I like it. (I think!)
As far as I'm concerned, Keys just lost any respect I had for him. I have paid reparations all my life. It's called taxes used for welfare!
I think that translates into English as "Get over it!"
Keyes is making a point about reparations in a round about way. The lib establishment will naturally decry this idea, even though exemption from the federal income tax would be a huge advantage/incentive for all black people. They just can't imagine a program that rewards success and hard work as opposed to handout. It's also a nice first step, since Keyes is really interested in getting rid of the income tax all together. I have discussed a similar idea with many liberals and it ties them in knots.
I don't have any problem with taking the reparations issue and engineering a tax-cut for minorities. The Democrats would be up the creek without a paddle if it ever came to debate on the floor -- hmmm, do we alienate the black population by voting against reparations, or do we go down in a flaming heap in the name of taxation-at-any-cost?
Uh, I would love to give you a tax break anyway, but your ancestors who fought didn't do it to free slaves. According to Lincoln it was to "preserve the union"
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