George W. Bush’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Was a Slave Trader

[branford]

122. I'm a little confused.

Specifically, do you want to increase taxes on everyone who's wealthy, even those who are African-Americans or other minorities or who had absolutely nothing to do with slavery or the slave trade, or only selected individuals or families? Do you propose a income or capital gains-type tax or an actual tax on wealth? What do you consider "wealthy" and how much of a tax do your propose?

All taxes are restributive. I (and the courts) object when the intended payors and recipients are arbitrary or based upon race, a clear constitutional equal protection argument. Taxing only rich whites to pay only blacks would be legally untenable, and taxing only those families or individuals who had ancestors involved in the slave trade would face even greater legal scrutiny, likely be viewed as punitive, and essentially a bill of attainder. Even a standard income tax to fund a broad reparation scheme would face legal and practical uncertainties, including who would actually be entitled to payments.

Depending on your particular suggestions, some permutations will be clearly unconstitutional or have other significant legal problems, while others reflect objections to capitalism itself far more than remedying the legacy of slavery.