Posted on 01/22/2003 7:57:43 AM PST by RGrizzle
For a long while, I never gave the Reparations debate much thought. I saw the articles, the protests, the fervor, but was convinced that the logic would falter under the weight 138 years of gone by. However, my apathy ceased when the champion of all liberal causes, Phil Donahue, presented the case for Reparations on his highly acclaimed show on the cable news network MSNBC. Clearly the handwriting is on the wall. Phil and his army of viewers will likely sweep Reparations through Congress after the 2004 elections.
Given the inevitable, I have now begun to an attempt to assess my own liability. Could I turn the pages on history and find an out, or was I doomed to write a check for my forefathers’ portion of transgressions. My findings are less than encouraging.
The argument for Reparations is that the descendants of slaves should be compensated for the unpaid wages of their forefathers. Based upon the figures supplied by the plaintiff in a recent lawsuit against CSX and Atena, 35 million African Americans should share a pot worth an estimated $1.5 trillion, or roughly $43 thousand per descendant of slaves.
It is my fear that this lawsuit will be dismissed due to a statue of limitations claim. Therefore, it will be incumbent upon the US government make the appropriate payment.
I strongly suspect these figures have not been included in the GAO budget forecasts. Given the liberal tendency toward “targeted” tax policies, I suspect I would be included in whatever target is concocted. Also, it would stand to reason (to me anyway) that African Americans would be excluded from taxes mandated to pay African Americans.
Recent Census data shows that blacks represent 12.7% of the population. The figures in the previously mentioned lawsuit suggest that only 1.2 million blacks in American are not descendants of slaves. However, 13% of the population is Hispanic. Clearly, they did not play a part in the slavery of Africans. Therefore, an additional 13% of the populace should be excluded from the needed Post-Sin tax.
To make things simple, there are 196.2 million whites in the Census figures. This lot will be asked to pay the $1.5 trillion due for Reparations or $7,600 per white. Mine is a family of four. This leaves me with an estimated bill of $30,400. I hope you now see why I am nervous.
I suspect some will argue that their ancestors arrived in America too late to be liable for the Post-Sin tax. This argument if successful could dwindle down the 196.2 million eligible for the tax making my $30,400 obligation increase proportionally.
It is at this point I began looking for my out. My ancestors resided mainly in the hills of North Georgia prior to the Civil War. The “hill people” of North Georgia were largely pro-Union, hence the name “Union County” where “none but Union-like men” lived. Perhaps the Post-Sin tax calculation would also consider Dade County Georgia who seceded from the state when Georgia seceded from the Union. Also, Stephens County was named after the pro-Unionist Alexander Stephens.
North Georgia suffered from the hands of post-war constraints such as shipping tariffs that stifled our economy and eliminated any hope of manufacturing investments. Since slavery itself was quite rare in North Georgia, could an argument be made that we had paid an undue portion during the hardships of Reconstruction?
Further analysis suggests the answer is clearly No. Alexander Stephens, like Robert E. Lee, chose to stand with his “countrymen”. Although he did not support secession during the Secession Conference of 1861, he did eventually serve as Vice President of the Confederacy. Strike one for me.
My home in Hall County is in walking distance to Redwine Church, home to the Seventeenth Georgia. This band of fighters served in Colquitt’s Brigade in Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Seven Days Battles, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville until finally surrendering in April 1865. They were a fearsome bunch indeed. Strike two for me.
Strike three is the final and most powerful blow for me in the Reparations calculation. As previously noted, North Georgians for the most part were not rich enough to own slaves. However, the slaves that did exist in North Georgia were largely not Africans. So as the pool of Post-Sin tax payees is diminishing, my liability is ever increasing. For North Georgians didn’t simply enslave the unfortunate Africans. No. We had to throw Cherokees, Scotsman, and Irish into the mix.
The recent Census data did not give any clues to how much my liability may increase after adjusting for Scotsman, Irish, and Cherokee. I suspect I should consider filing for bankruptcy now. In the event I have to write a check to my friend Patrick for Irish Reparations, I could very well shoot myself. Curse that Phil Donahue and his army of viewers!
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