Ralph Taylor, owner of the Orion Insurance Group in Lynnwood, Washington, is decidedly white. Several years ago, though, he took a DNA ancestry test that determined he was only 90 percent Caucasian. He was also, according to the ancestry test, 6 percent “indigenous American” and 4 percent “sub-Saharan African.” This led Taylor to apply to the state for certification that Orion is a minority-owned business. In Washington, as in most states, minority-owned firms receive tax and other benefits.
Taylor’s application was denied, on the grounds that he is white, whereupon he sued the Washington Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises and the federal government. “There’s no objective criteria, and they’re picking winners and losers,” he tells the Seattle Times. His suit is now on the docket of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Not surprisingly, Taylor is hoping to make a larger point. He told the Washington Post he “would like to see the minority-business certification process scrapped and replaced with a program that would be based on socioeconomic status, not race. After all, he points out, the son of a millionaire such as Michael Jordan would be considered ‘disadvantaged’ under the existing guidelines.”
He’s right about that. Government agencies can and should stop rewarding some people—and by extension punishing others—for the possession of preferred physical traits.
