From California wealth taxes to $14M in federal funds, reparations rhetoric moves forward

Progressive legislatures across the country are introducing various forms of wealth taxes in their Marxist quest for equity and race hustlers want a piece of the action. advancing their goal of reparations to the tune of $14 trillion.

(Video: CNBC)

Sound economics appeared to be of little concern to activists determined to get benefits and payouts for atrocities committed against black slaves in generations past as California’s reparations panel proposed even more taxes to achieve their ends. The panel’s chair Kamilah Moore shared a Market Watch article over the weekend that referred to the money of wealthy people as “stolen” with pitches on how to draw in revenue to attempt to award no less than $223,000 per black resident of the Golden State.

“One of their suggestions for sources of money for reparations is a state estate tax. (Under federal law, the lifetime estate-tax exemption is $12.9 million for individuals this year). Their other suggestions include: a mansion tax, a graduated-property tax,” she tweeted and the article went on to state, “which they acknowledged may not be likely in California because Proposition 13 taxes properties based on their value when they were sold — or even a tax on the fledgling ‘metaverse.'”

Meanwhile, Duke University professor William A. Darity and writer A. Kirsten Mullen, coauthors of “From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century,” joined CNBC last week to express their view that the federal government was “culpable for slavery” and no less than $14 trillion in reparations would suffice.

“The federal government must pay this debt, this is the entity that gave itself the right and the authority to enslave black Americans,” Mullen expressed, adding, “When we’re talking about segregation, we’re not only talking about keeping black people separate from white people — we’re also talking about nearly a century of white terror attacks on black communities.”

“These were focused on two things: suppressing the black vote, and also turning a blind eye to the destruction of black people’s property,” she said. “In some cases, the federal government was party to those destructions.”

In the same conversation, Darity contended that COVID relief stood as proof that the federal government could readily issue checks to those it saw fit without mention of the ramifications a payout of nearly half the current national debt would cause. Along with suggestions of free college, grants for purchasing a home, and even tax-exempt status proposed by Marcus Champion of the Civil Justice Association, the Duke professor said, “This could include giving them reparations in the form of an annuity, or a trust account, or some type of an endowment where there are limitations on the amount that could be spent at each moment.”

Market Watch also cited testimony from Dorothy Brown, Georgetown Law tax professor and author of “The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans & How We Can Fix It,” that she gave during Friday’s reparations task force meeting where she argued, “Our tax laws as written have a disparate impact.”

“Black people are likely to pay higher taxes,” she contended, due to an alleged lack of tax breaks that are afforded to white people. A solution proposed was a “wealth tax credit” for lower-income taxpayers as, “Given the racial wealth disparity, this will result in a disproportionate percentage of black households receiving the credit.”

The reparations task force was slated to disband following the submission of a final report due July 1, 2023. However, the group voted Saturday to extend their own existence until July 1, 2024, without any known authority to do so.

“The key thing,” Darity concluded with a reference to a current California test program that limited how payouts could be spent, “is that ultimately the discretion for the use of the funds must reside with the recipient.”

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Kevin Haggerty

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles