Image Credit:
Shutterstock
California’s reparations task force has spoken: African Americans who are direct descendents of slaves living in the U.S. in the 19th century should receive reparations from the California taxpayers and would receive an apology. But a second proposal included all African Americans - and many observers predict that second proposal will most certainly be adopted after the initial payouts are made.
Opponents say the whole idea of giving reparations to anyone living today is in itself a “racist” notion - i.e. that you would force some groups with a certain skin color to make payments to other groups with a certain skin color.
Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California, calls the reparations proposal “offensive, racist, and unjust.”
His organization released a fiscal assessment of the reparations proposals that predicts the a full program covering all African Americans in California would cost $137.11 billion - or $3705 for every man, woman, and child in California who is not African American.
How did this crazy idea even begin in California - which has never had slavery and entered the union in the 1850s as a “free” state?
In 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill giving “special consideration” to black descendants of American slaves and authorized an investigation into the process of providing reparations to these individuals. Immediately after its formation, the task force started making reparation proposals for individuals beyond just direct descendents of slaves.
In fact, the task force’s decision this month to limit reparations to only direct descendents of slaves was not unanimous. Rather, the vote was split 5-4, with several members wishing to award all black Californians.
Cheryl Grills, a committee member and a clinical psychologist at Loyola Marymount University, called a direct-descent from slavery approach to reparations “another win for white supremacy.”
“With their initial proposal they are arguing to force people today who in no way were involved in slavery to give their money to other people who claim they are related to victims who suffered under slavery 150 to 200 years ago - that is a fundamentally unfair and unjust policy,” DeMaio says.
“And with their next proposal it will be to force people with a certain skin color to simply give their money to other people with a different skin color - that is the fundamental definition of an offensive and downright racist policy,” DeMaio notes.
“This is nothing more than a shameful attempt by California Democrats to divide us once again along racial lines, fan the flames of hate and division, and pit groups against each other,” DeMaio says.
The task force is expected to send a reparations proposal to the State Legislature in June 2023 with recommendations for action, which would include a formal apology from the state.
“Perhaps someone ought to tell these extremists backing this proposal that California was admitted to the union as free state in 1850 and never allowed slaves,” DeMaio says.
DeMaio warns that the action could lead to massive costs to taxpayers - and his organization Reform California has calculated a potential cost to taxpayers.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized for the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II and authorized a payment of $20,000 to 80,000 living survivors. This totaled about $1.6 billion at that time.
Adjusted for inflation those $20,000 payments from 1988 would be $52,735 in today’s dollars - although at the rate inflation is skyrocketing in the Biden Administration, that figure is climbing each day.
California has approximately 2.6 million Black residents, who make up 6.5% of the population. Assuming each is given just $52,735 in reparations in a one-time payment, taxpayers would be on the hook for $137.11 billion - or an immediate penalty of $3,705 per person in the state excluding African Americans.
“This will absolutely lead to tax increases on the rest of Californians to offset costs — as well as service cuts on all residents,”
But what can be done to help stop the proposal?
DeMaio says it starts with flipping key seats in the State Legislature, which will help block bad legislation like this from getting approved.
DeMaio and Reform California are working to recruit and support reform-minded candidates for the 2022 elections that will fight to stop bad bills and the huge tax increases coming out of Sacramento. Join the campaign today to help flip these key seats.
.jpg)
