Freshman Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) wanted to make a splash during her first term in office, and her recent appearance on “The Black Lawyers Podcast” showed just that. Telling host Jehan “J” Carter about her idea, she claimed to have her a celebrity (whose name she forgot) had suggested black people stop paying taxes for some time. To her, this is the perfect answer for race relations.
In her mind, “That puts money back in your pocket.” However, she cautioned it could be a problem “for people that are already, say, struggling and not paying taxes in the first place.” A crime as it is, she seemed to think that this was legal or that this would cause a new problem. Justifying it, she added, “So many black folk — not only do you owe for the labor that was stolen and killed and all the other things — but the fact is, like, we end up being so far behind.”
Trying to sound intelligent, she claimed it would take state and federal government cooperation because then people would just jump states to take advantage of the changes. Criticizing people who refuse to fund studies for this failed concept, she made it clear that she thinks this could work correctly. The problem is, as we have seen, the states and the federal government cannot be on the same sheet of music on a lot of programs, and this one would be one of the worst.
Openly looking at her idea at face value, a huge problem becomes incredibly clear. First off, who decides the “level” of blackness needed for reparations? How is this proven? What about Native Americans, Irishmen, Italians, and others who were enslaved here? What if you’re black, but your ancestors were slave owners, or what if you’re from another nation? There is no way to make such a decision fairly. More to the point, the surge in taxation would be incredibly unjust to anyone who isn’t black. Descendant of a slave owner or not.
