Strom Thurmond multiracial offspring

[bug_girl]

strom paternity acknowledged (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/thurmond_paternity)

I didn't think it was possible for me to dislike this man more than i already did.
I was wrong!

Hey, don't let those colored folks in your swimming pool or school--but it's ok to secretly pork them?

heavy sigh. I'm just sad he's dead so he can't hear any of this.

[Ed]

It is pretty funny.

Another thing I noted is that his estate was valued at $200,000. Low, in my estimation.

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by Ed
It is pretty funny.

Another thing I noted is that his estate was valued at $200,000. Low, in my estimation.

That is because about 15 years ago he started giving his estate...then valued at about 3 million ...over into some sort of living trusts for his legitimate children. These trusts are not counted in his estate.

The thing I find so interesting, given his white son's political ambitions, is how much will they embrace this "daughter" and her children. This young federal prosecutor now has acknowledged half nieces and nephews that are both black and older than he is.

The really sad thing is that there is not only this daughter but her children that have been denied the power, prestige and advantages that Strom's white children got. The son got an early appointment to a federal prosecutors job and is on the fast track to political and social success in S. Carolina. What did the black daughter or the black grand children get? I know the daughter's education was paid for, but hell, she deserved at least that considering daddy couldn't acknowldge her and publically called for people of her "race" to be excluded from acceptable white society via segregation.

THis is such a sad, and all too typical and human story.

[Tricky]

I'm glad the family acknowledged it. It gives me hope that Strom was just a genetic fluke and they aren't really breeding bigots in South Carolina.

Although I know it is common, I have a hard time fathoming how a person could live their life in such blatent hypocrisy. Maybe it is the same kind of thing that allows Bush to call his cocaine use a "youthful indiscretion", but poor addicts are criminals who should rot in prison.

[Clancie]

Posted by Tricky

I'm glad the family acknowledged it. It gives me hope that Strom was just a genetic fluke and they aren't really breeding bigots in South Carolina
I don't see anything to credit the family (actually their lawyer) with, Tricky, in bringing it up the way they did. The woman was urged by her own children to be publicly acknowledged, now that Thurmond is dead and won't have to deal with the publicity or be accountable for his personal hypocrisy.

A DNA test would have proved her claim anyway. The family just followed good legal advice to try to have the headline "today", and then get it over with as quickly as possible.

If they had offered to share a significant portion of Thurmond's estate with her, that would have shown some class (and, after all, she's an elderly woman now with dependents of her own).

But...they didn't. No surprises there.....

[Tmy]

So Strom was a deadbeat dad huh? The lady looks like him too, more punishment for her.

Whats really shocking aboutthe story. How a super rich guy like Strom can manipulated the tax and estate laws in order to all but aviod an estate tax.

[hammegk]

Originally posted by Tmy

Whats really shocking about the story. How a super rich guy like Strom can manipulated the tax and estate laws in order to all but aviod an estate tax.

My, how disillusioned you will be if you ever actually accept reality.

[Tony]

Originally posted by Tmy
How a super rich guy like Strom can manipulated the tax and estate laws in order to all but aviod an estate tax.


And what's wrong with that?

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by Tmy
So Strom was a deadbeat dad huh? The lady looks like him too, more punishment for her.

Whats really shocking aboutthe story. How a super rich guy like Strom can manipulated the tax and estate laws in order to all but aviod an estate tax.

Fact is, many people shelter estates, that isn't what is wrong with this picture...it is that he did so to the benefit of his "legitimate" children, and did not include this daughter...who he was clearly ashamed of. It isn't her fault. She is his child. He, in theory and by his own proclaimation, was a christian man. He is a hypocrite ... this daughter should share in the estate. The White children are acknowledging her, but not offering to share. What does that tell you?

[Clancie]

Posted byTmy

... in order to all but avoid an estate tax.
He-completely-avoided it. There's no estate tax on estates of $200,000 (And I'm sure we'll eventually find that the -real- value of his estate, prop etc. would have been well into the millions, if not "creatively distributed" ahead of time....).

He was a bigot and a hypocrite. I'm sorry he was able to successfully hide the hypocrisy from the bigots who've supported him all these years....

[Tmy]

Originally posted by Tony



And what's wrong with that?

Whats wrongis how the law ends up taking from family of the little guy who probably has nothing more than the family home and really cant afford to do estate planning while a billionare can shelter everything. Worse! You get these rich people who play their cards right and end up sucking the medicare system dry cause they are "poor" on paper.

But I digress. This is about Strom being a hypocrite. I wonder, was his fatherless kid ever on welfare or anything?

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by Tmy


Whats wrongis how the law ends up taking from family of the little guy who probably has nothing more than the family home and really cant afford to do estate planning while a billionare can shelter everything. Worse! You get these rich people who play their cards right and end up sucking the medicare system dry cause they are "poor" on paper.

But I digress. This is about Strom being a hypocrite. I wonder, was his fatherless kid ever on welfare or anything?

He actually supported this daughter...paid for college, etc. One might think he was doing so to keep the secret as much as any sense of parental responsibility....

[Tony]

Originally posted by Tmy


Whats wrongis how the law ends up taking from family of the little guy who probably has nothing more than the family home and really cant afford to do estate planning while a billionare can shelter everything. Worse! You get these rich people who play their cards right and end up sucking the medicare system dry cause they are "poor" on paper.



Well, if I was rich and I was having my money stolen from me, I would do everything in my power to keep that from happening. Wouldnt you?

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by Tony




Well, if I was rich and I was having my money stolen from me, I would do everything in my power to keep that from happening. Wouldnt you?

An interesting point...however, worth considering in this situation is that from 1945 till his death, Strom was on the public payroll, yet made millions of dollars. Not accusing him of any hanky panky (outside of with the family maid), certainly, it was all wise investments. But, he didn't create anything, build a small business, run a big business, etc. Yet, he was able to put millions in trust for his children - -- save the black one. All the while complaining of the cost of the welfare state ...

[Tmy]

Paid for college. Big deal, how many parents are required to do that via child support.

Stroms a guy whos whole life revolved around spending our tax dollars. And in the end, he dodged those same taxes and died "pennyless".

I would like to see what his voting record was like in child suppot and estate tax issues.

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by Tmy
Paid for college. Big deal, how many parents are required to do that via child support.

Stroms a guy whos whole life revolved around spending our tax dollars. And in the end, he dodged those same taxes and died "pennyless".

I would like to see what his voting record was like in child suppot and estate tax issues.

Indeed, all fair points...voting record on those issues would be telling. My only point is that the family got money from Strom...more than just college. However, it seems to me that it was as much "hush" money as anything. He did more by her than many in that situation, but compared to what his legitimate children got...love, affection, care, advancement, the estate, it is hardly equal treatment by a loving father, more treatment by an embarassed father, and that's the real tradgedy.

[Ed]

Originally posted by Tmy


Whats wrongis how the law ends up taking from family of the little guy who probably has nothing more than the family home and really cant afford to do estate planning while a billionare can shelter everything. Worse! You get these rich people who play their cards right and end up sucking the medicare system dry cause they are "poor" on paper.




Any references for this interesting interpretation of estate law?

[Tmy]

Im sure if you googled "Estate Planning and Medicare" somthing will pop up.

Heres how it works. Say your an old couple and one of you has to go into a nurseing home. If medicare is footing the bill for your long term care they will put a lien on your home to recover some costs after the couple dies. BUT if your clever enough to use trusts, gifts ect.. you can pretty much have your long term care paid for by the govt and they cant put a lien on nothing cause youve shelterd your stuff.

While Im not big on govt and nurseing homes bleading peopel dry, Im a little annoyed that really the loopholes are only available to the people who can pay thousands of dollars to estate planning attorneys.

[corplinx]

I think many people are forgetting something. Even after the racial taboos of Strom Thurmond's youth had mostly gone by, there was still the stigma of an out-of-wedlock child.

My guess is the fact that he earlier hid her existence was painful and embarassing and would have only further cast him and other republicans as racist in the public light.

My guess is that there are more than just selfish considerations in this. You know if Strom had fathered a legitimate multiracial child at the age of 100 it would have been in every GOP ad as a way of saying "look, we arent Klan members!"

[shecky]

I love this story becaue it shows Strom in a more human light than he's ever allowed.

[specious_reasons]

Originally posted by corplinx
I think many people are forgetting something. Even after the racial taboos of Strom Thurmond's youth had mostly gone by, there was still the stigma of an out-of-wedlock child.

My guess is the fact that he earlier hid her existence was painful and embarassing and would have only further cast him and other republicans as racist in the public light.

My guess is that there are more than just selfish considerations in this. You know if Strom had fathered a legitimate multiracial child at the age of 100 it would have been in every GOP ad as a way of saying "look, we arent Klan members!"

I don't disagree with you, but none of the actions he took were the honorable course.

NPR has a longer quote, which I don't remember, but Thurmond called it "too scandalous" to warrant comment when the accusation came to light in 1972.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60363-2003Dec12_4.html

This whole episode doesn't lower my opinion of Thurmond, because my opinion was that Thurmond always did what he thought was most politically expedient.

[jj]

Originally posted by Tmy
How a super rich guy like Strom can manipulated the tax and estate laws in order to all but aviod an estate tax.

Yeah, let's talk about how the tax levels for the estate tax were set in the early 1900's, and never changed until a few years ago, when they were set to gradually raise, disappear for a year, and then come back to the original levels set in the 1900's.

A law, obviously designed to except one generation's wealth, and sieze the next generation's, among other things.

The real problem, of course, is the failure to adjust the tax rate with inflation for close to 100 years, in the name of "soak the rich".

[jj]

Originally posted by Ed



quote:
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Originally posted by Tmy


Whats wrongis how the law ends up taking from family of the little guy who probably has nothing more than the family home and really cant afford to do estate planning while a billionare can shelter everything. Worse! You get these rich people who play their cards right and end up sucking the medicare system dry cause they are "poor" on paper.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Any references for this interesting interpretation of estate law?

Actually, yes.

Because of the way laws are set up, it's very hard to pass along small family businesses, but quite easy to pass along liquid assets by converting them from one form to another.

This has destroyed many a family business. When a small family business was worth 100,000 the tax didn't matter. Now that a small family business is worth 10,000,000 it's simple destruction to have to pay half of it in taxes.

[Clancie]

Posted by corplinx

My guess is that there are more than just selfish considerations in this. You know if Strom had fathered a legitimate multiracial child at the age of 100 it would have been in every GOP ad as a way of saying "look, we arent Klan members!"
Well, the child would only be "legitimate" if Thurmond married a black woman. No chance of that, of course.

The most disgusting thing about Thurmond is that he was a leading proponent of racism and the segregationist policies that destroyed the opportunities for so many African Americans.

If he wanted sex with his black maid, that was okay, hidden away for his own pleasure...but he wouldn't ever recognize blacks as equals to whites in public, and worked -diligently for decades-- to deny them their rights as American citizens. What a hypocrite.

re: estate tax...Here's an interesting article.estate tax (http://www.mbf-law.com/pubs/articles/668.cfm)

[NightG1]

Originally posted by specious_reasons


I don't disagree with you, but none of the actions he took were the honorable course.


Exactly my feelings on this issue. Had Strom admitted to or if the story had broke the he had fathered a child out-of-wedlock with a black 16-year old housekeeper, it would have made his political asperations in South Carolina rather brief and this is the real reason he kept the relationship a secret. I find it also somewhat poetic that Strom is also now guilty of lying about his sexual conquests just like a certain former US President.

[Clancie]

Posted by NightG1

Strom is also now guilty of lying about his sexual conquests just like a certain former US President.
Which former president, NightG1? Eisenhower? Kennedy? Johnson? Harding? Wilson?

Having consensual extramarital sex with an adult, doesn't even begin to approach the level of hypocrisy of a 22 year old bigot having sex with the 16 year old family maid, fathering a child by her...never acknowledging that child...and being a leading racist for 60 years.

You think that's like Clinton? Oh, brother.....:rolleyes: