Keyes won't back down on reparations

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 8/19/04 | SCOTT FORNEK

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

They had bigger taxes than anyone else - you should pay more! ;-D

My ancestors were not Roman's silly, they were their slaves!

[L98Fiero]

Good point.

[no more apples]

The only reason we need is that our income tax is rediculously unfair. It has fallen away from the original purpose and intent. Reparations is a stupid way to futher the no income tax agenda.

[Non-Sequitur]

My point is that you can find a reason for reperation's for almost every American in this country, therefore we should abolish the Income Tax.

Then why not say that? Why insert it into a reparations scheme and try to sell that to those who won't be reaping any benefits from it?

[no more apples]

Good point! I need more coffee.

[newzjunkey]

I still wouldn't be comfortable taking reparations for what my family had to endure. Nobody alive today had anything to do with that.

Keyes is saying individual advancement was retarded, even haulted, by slavery, segregation, etc. The causes a backlog in the family tree. You shouldn't be the first in your family to attend college or graduate high school, that should've happened long ago. He's saying there was so much impediment in access to opportunity, that the delays in the family line's advancement (intellectually, financially) was multi-generational. This bizarre proposal might be a means to insulate himself from being characterized by blacks as an "Uncle Tom."

[MNnice]

There's an old adage that before you can educate anyone, you've got to get their attention. This is a great strategy to split the chicago black vote. heh heh. Even die-hard democrat blacks are gonna stop and listen to him now. That's all you can ask for.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

Uhh, if you don't file you can't have 0% tax, so the IRS figures have to be correct. If you don't file you must have known you wouldn't get anything back, nor have to pay more in. Either that or lazy or stupid.

[newzjunkey]

Keyes has been saying it for years and years. He wants a national sales tax since he calls the income tax a "slave tax" in that the gov't, rather than the earner, has first crack at the funds *and* there's no cap on the tax rate which is impervious to simple votes of Congress.

[BunnySlippers]

No matter who went against Obama they would have lost. Keyes will lose big-time. But he's giving the Republican party a bad name.

[Non-Sequitur]

Keyes has been saying it for years and years. He wants a national sales tax since he calls the income tax a "slave tax" in that the gov't, rather than the earner, has first crack at the funds *and* there's no cap on the tax rate which is impervious to simple votes of Congress.

Then why not stick to that message instead of cloaking it in a reparations scheme?

[Always Right]

Uhh, if you don't file you can't have 0% tax, so the IRS figures have to be correct.

You can claim enough exemptions were virtually no tax is paid. But reguardless, taxpayers under $30,000 is paying less at a rate of about 1% of their income to federal income taxes. Maybe it is not zero, but virtually zero.

[zeugma]

I was gonna vote for him, but that issue is on the other side of my line in the sand.

I'm not in IL, so don't have much say in his current election campaign, but if the article referenced states his true position on 'reparations', then he'll never get any support from me. He's off his nut if he thinks blacks are owed anything more than the same respect I give any human being.

[deport]

Well now you can get all the post on one page no matter what your preferences are set at..... the continuation of the grand experiment......

[deport]

My bad.... seems the preference settings do work now.....

[small_l_libertarian]

I actually like this proposal on a lot of different levels.

1) It pokes a stick in the eye of both the Dems - how can they possibly be against a benefit to one of their biggest constituencies? - and to the Reps - what, are they suddenly against tax cuts? And, that's just plain funny.

2) It calls an enormous amount of attention to his campaign that he would not otherwise get (it's not like the media is going to go out of their way to cover Alan Keyes).

3) It gives people something to think about - I agree with what he says about how individual achievement has been stifled through the years (including the current welfare state).

4) It will probably never actually happen, so he's not risking much.

This campaign is turning out to be even more fun than I had hoped.

[Captain Kirk]

That might have been true thirty years ago but a majority of blacks are now in the middle class.

[Captain Kirk]

You beat me to it. Good answer. Most people still believe the myth that most blacks are poor. A majority are now in the middle class.

[rockrr]

Say goodnight Alan.......

[outlawcam]

{groan}

I really, really hope this issue goes away soon. Alan is not thinking of the unintended consequences of this, among other things.

It will cause animosity and jealousy. Not a good idea. That will foster racism. In addition, what of mixed couples filing joint returns? It adds complexity that the tax code does not need. Abolish the income tax, for everyone, and everyone benefits. Institute the FairTax, and place a person's rate of taxation in his own control. That is fairness, and it is something everyone can live with.