BLM Coalition Reveals 6 Point Policy Platform

[Anonymous]

I have no idea if reparations will help improve AAs economically or in education. It hasn't appeared to help Native Americans too much. None of this really matters though. Reparations are an attempt to right a wrong. AAs suffered economically due to the actions of the government. They should be compensated as such. Not sure why this seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend.

If past efforts have shown that reparations didn't amount to a hill of beans, why would we waste more money if the results are don't outweigh the costs?

not sure why THAT seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend, PP


I'm not agreeing to spending another dime on a failed effort. The country is already in debt by trillions with a failing educational system. If you want to reallocate money, then use it wisely by going into the urban school districts, making class sizes no larger than 15, creating wellness centers for those kids, hiring THE BEST teachers while offering them incentives to stay and perhaps work with kids over the summer, and create outreach programs that connect schools to neighborhoods.

Stats show that blacks AND Hispanics are behind academically. So instead of being reactive with money ("Here's $20 b/c we guilty."), be proactive by using money to teach kids how to read and work through anger and resentment. And give them job training. Not all kids WANT to go to college, but our elitist society thinks that trades are beneath us. That to me is highly offensive, as I come from a family skilled in trades.

Common sense is dead.

[Anonymous]

formatting and editing changes

I have no idea if reparations will help improve AAs economically or in education. It hasn't appeared to help Native Americans too much. None of this really matters though. Reparations are an attempt to right a wrong. AAs suffered economically due to the actions of the government. They should be compensated as such. Not sure why this seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend.

If past efforts have shown that reparations didn't amount to a hill of beans, why would we waste more money if the results don't outweigh the costs?

not sure why THAT seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend, PP


I'm not agreeing to spending another dime on a failed effort. The country is already in debt by trillions with a failing educational system. If you want to reallocate money, then use it wisely by going into the urban school districts, making class sizes no larger than 15, creating wellness centers for those kids, hiring THE BEST teachers while offering them incentives to stay and perhaps work with kids over the summer, and create outreach programs that connect schools to neighborhoods.

Stats show that blacks AND Hispanics are behind academically. So instead of being reactive with money ("Here's $20 b/c we feel guilty."), be proactive by using money to teach kids how to read and work through anger and resentment. And give them job training. Not all kids WANT to go to college, but our elitist society thinks that trades are beneath us. That to me is highly offensive, as I come from a family skilled in trades.

Common sense is dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You guys really love you some reparations, huh? Lots of people on here trying to reason away why we (the U.S.) should not owe AAs reparations. Opposition to the debt this country owes AAs is a clear denial of history. AA success in this country has happened DESPITE continued institutionalized racism and oppression.

It's undeniable that the U.S. government owes a moral debt to AAs. Period. I'm White/Asian, and I'm a lifelong conservative. I can easily admit this b/c history makes it very clear. We can disagree or debtate how we payback this debt, and who its specifically owed to, but to ignore it or explain it away with things like "Whites didn't own slaves" or "My family wasn't here, or didn't have slaves, so I shouldn't owe" is really meaningless. Its not about you personally. Its not about whites. Its not even completely about poverty. Its about the U.S. government as an institution and the atrocities it engaged in or allowed, for centuries, on the basis of skin color.

The debt owed to AAs is with the U.S. government. We (tax paying citizens) pay for things we were directly not responsible for all the time. We have paid out billions to Iran, and middle eastern countries to right wrongs. We paid the Native Americans billions and allow tax breaks. We paid Japanese Americans billions, who were relatively new to this country BTW in general. We even paid slave owners reparations after abolishing slavery.

Lets not stop there. We pay when government officials make mistakes or commit atrocities (e.g. police shootings, sexual harassment claims). We pay for policy failures of past federal and local admintrations with our tax dollars. Why all of sudden do we push the brakes when we talk about paying back the very people whose ancestors built this country for free with their blood? Why is THIS one the cardinal sin? This is baffling to me.

For those fixated on "that was in the past we don't owe anyone anything," what about more current atrocities like the effective exclusion of blacks from the GI bill that help rebuild the white middle class, oppressive voting restrictions, housing discrimination, lack of access to credit, watered down affirmative action and civil rights laws, non-enforcement of civil rights laws, racial disparities in sentencing and LE practices. You want to focus on class and ignore race when the issues AAs faced were a direct result of race based policies. You don't think this would have lasting impact on a large % of the targeted group? The shit makes me furious just writing about it, and honestly I still don't understand why AAs as a group support the idea of big government.

You want to talk about poor Whites, or the historical disenfranchisement of Asians? We can brainstorm policies to address that. But it does not diminish the debt the U.S. owes to AAs.

One last thing: Using other countries as an example of how to deal with reparations is weak. We aren't Russia, China or some poor war torn third world country. This is America and we are supposed to be the greatest country in the world. We are supposed to be the lead. WTF would we copy standards from other countries? Or more specifically, since we have already paid reparations numerous times, why would would we only follow their lead when it applies to AAs? Stop it with this.

+1. Great post. So much truth, but most of these folks don't understand or care.

Please, that was a terrible post. We are already paying reparations through state-sponsored discriminatory admissions and hiring processes. I would rather pay a lump sum than deal with BS from unqualified people for the rest of my life.

Not PP, but lets ride with your comment for a second. You think EEO and affirmative action laws, which make it illegal for institutions to discriminate based on race (among other things), and which require racial minorities to be considered when making decisions, are "discriminatory?" You consider laws that require institutions to do what they are morally supposed to do, reparations? LOL

The Trump School of Trolling has failed you my friend.

They're getting more than merely being "considered," my friend - they're getting preferential treatment over whites when it comes to higher education admissions, job hires, and promotions. That's reparations.

Preferential treatment specifically for AAs would indeed be considered a form of reparations, so you are right about that. Too bad the results say this hasn't happened. AAs have historically been, and currently are, sorely underrepresented in nearly all facets of corporate America, government, and academia. An effective reparations program would have had significantly better results because it would be specifically targeted for AAs.

The real problem here is that you do not believe AAs deserve reparations. Otherwise, even if your claim of preferential treatment were true, you would not be complaining about it. So just own that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:formatting and editing changes

I have no idea if reparations will help improve AAs economically or in education. It hasn't appeared to help Native Americans too much. None of this really matters though. Reparations are an attempt to right a wrong. AAs suffered economically due to the actions of the government. They should be compensated as such. Not sure why this seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend.

If past efforts have shown that reparations didn't amount to a hill of beans, why would we waste more money if the results don't outweigh the costs?

not sure why THAT seems to be such a hard concept to comprehend, PP


I'm not agreeing to spending another dime on a failed effort. The country is already in debt by trillions with a failing educational system. If you want to reallocate money, then use it wisely by going into the urban school districts, making class sizes no larger than 15, creating wellness centers for those kids, hiring THE BEST teachers while offering them incentives to stay and perhaps work with kids over the summer, and create outreach programs that connect schools to neighborhoods.

Stats show that blacks AND Hispanics are behind academically. So instead of being reactive with money ("Here's $20 b/c we feel guilty."), be proactive by using money to teach kids how to read and work through anger and resentment. And give them job training. Not all kids WANT to go to college, but our elitist society thinks that trades are beneath us. That to me is highly offensive, as I come from a family skilled in trades.

Common sense is dead.

Spending a dime on what failed effort? I'm actually not even sure what you are talking about as it relates to education-- its rather incoherent. It appears you do not understand the definition of reparations.

Reparations can be paid in various ways. It could be through money, programs, or some combination of the two. Theoretically, any form of reparations should help. But we don't know, and we can't even agree to study ways to see how its possible. None of this excuses the fact that a debt is owed to AAs and needs to be rightfully paid. We could debate owe or to whom (which is it seems like you are doing), that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen. BLM was absolutely right to include it as part of its agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You guys really love you some reparations, huh? Lots of people on here trying to reason away why we (the U.S.) should not owe AAs reparations. Opposition to the debt this country owes AAs is a clear denial of history. AA success in this country has happened DESPITE continued institutionalized racism and oppression.

It's undeniable that the U.S. government owes a moral debt to AAs. Period. I'm White/Asian, and I'm a lifelong conservative. I can easily admit this b/c history makes it very clear. We can disagree or debtate how we payback this debt, and who its specifically owed to, but to ignore it or explain it away with things like "Whites didn't own slaves" or "My family wasn't here, or didn't have slaves, so I shouldn't owe" is really meaningless. Its not about you personally. Its not about whites. Its not even completely about poverty. Its about the U.S. government as an institution and the atrocities it engaged in or allowed, for centuries, on the basis of skin color.

The debt owed to AAs is with the U.S. government. We (tax paying citizens) pay for things we were directly not responsible for all the time. We have paid out billions to Iran, and middle eastern countries to right wrongs. We paid the Native Americans billions and allow tax breaks. We paid Japanese Americans billions, who were relatively new to this country BTW in general. We even paid slave owners reparations after abolishing slavery.

Lets not stop there. We pay when government officials make mistakes or commit atrocities (e.g. police shootings, sexual harassment claims). We pay for policy failures of past federal and local admintrations with our tax dollars. Why all of sudden do we push the brakes when we talk about paying back the very people whose ancestors built this country for free with their blood? Why is THIS one the cardinal sin? This is baffling to me.

For those fixated on "that was in the past we don't owe anyone anything," what about more current atrocities like the effective exclusion of blacks from the GI bill that help rebuild the white middle class, oppressive voting restrictions, housing discrimination, lack of access to credit, watered down affirmative action and civil rights laws, non-enforcement of civil rights laws, racial disparities in sentencing and LE practices. You want to focus on class and ignore race when the issues AAs faced were a direct result of race based policies. You don't think this would have lasting impact on a large % of the targeted group? The shit makes me furious just writing about it, and honestly I still don't understand why AAs as a group support the idea of big government.

You want to talk about poor Whites, or the historical disenfranchisement of Asians? We can brainstorm policies to address that. But it does not diminish the debt the U.S. owes to AAs.

One last thing: Using other countries as an example of how to deal with reparations is weak. We aren't Russia, China or some poor war torn third world country. This is America and we are supposed to be the greatest country in the world. We are supposed to be the lead. WTF would we copy standards from other countries? Or more specifically, since we have already paid reparations numerous times, why would would we only follow their lead when it applies to AAs? Stop it with this.

+1. Great post. So much truth, but most of these folks don't understand or care.

Please, that was a terrible post. We are already paying reparations through state-sponsored discriminatory admissions and hiring processes. I would rather pay a lump sum than deal with BS from unqualified people for the rest of my life.

Not PP, but lets ride with your comment for a second. You think EEO and affirmative action laws, which make it illegal for institutions to discriminate based on race (among other things), and which require racial minorities to be considered when making decisions, are "discriminatory?" You consider laws that require institutions to do what they are morally supposed to do, reparations? LOL

The Trump School of Trolling has failed you my friend.

They're getting more than merely being "considered," my friend - they're getting preferential treatment over whites when it comes to higher education admissions, job hires, and promotions. That's reparations.

Preferential treatment specifically for AAs would indeed be considered a form of reparations, so you are right about that. Too bad the results say this hasn't happened. AAs have historically been, and currently are, sorely underrepresented in nearly all facets of corporate America, government, and academia. An effective reparations program would have had significantly better results because it would be specifically targeted for AAs.

The real problem here is that you do not believe AAs deserve reparations. Otherwise, even if your claim of preferential treatment were true, you would not be complaining about it. So just own that.

I know your heart is in the right place, and you should get some credit for that. AAs do get preferential treatment under employment affirmative action. There's no question about that. That's literally how it works. Maybe consider that there might be other reasons that minorities and women are underrepresented in board rooms?

[Anonymous]

George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

So just give them money? What if someone is biracial? Do we give them half as much? How much money does Oprah get (because I don't think she needs any)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You guys really love you some reparations, huh? Lots of people on here trying to reason away why we (the U.S.) should not owe AAs reparations. Opposition to the debt this country owes AAs is a clear denial of history. AA success in this country has happened DESPITE continued institutionalized racism and oppression.

It's undeniable that the U.S. government owes a moral debt to AAs. Period. I'm White/Asian, and I'm a lifelong conservative. I can easily admit this b/c history makes it very clear. We can disagree or debtate how we payback this debt, and who its specifically owed to, but to ignore it or explain it away with things like "Whites didn't own slaves" or "My family wasn't here, or didn't have slaves, so I shouldn't owe" is really meaningless. Its not about you personally. Its not about whites. Its not even completely about poverty. Its about the U.S. government as an institution and the atrocities it engaged in or allowed, for centuries, on the basis of skin color.

The debt owed to AAs is with the U.S. government. We (tax paying citizens) pay for things we were directly not responsible for all the time. We have paid out billions to Iran, and middle eastern countries to right wrongs. We paid the Native Americans billions and allow tax breaks. We paid Japanese Americans billions, who were relatively new to this country BTW in general. We even paid slave owners reparations after abolishing slavery.

Lets not stop there. We pay when government officials make mistakes or commit atrocities (e.g. police shootings, sexual harassment claims). We pay for policy failures of past federal and local admintrations with our tax dollars. Why all of sudden do we push the brakes when we talk about paying back the very people whose ancestors built this country for free with their blood? Why is THIS one the cardinal sin? This is baffling to me.

For those fixated on "that was in the past we don't owe anyone anything," what about more current atrocities like the effective exclusion of blacks from the GI bill that help rebuild the white middle class, oppressive voting restrictions, housing discrimination, lack of access to credit, watered down affirmative action and civil rights laws, non-enforcement of civil rights laws, racial disparities in sentencing and LE practices. You want to focus on class and ignore race when the issues AAs faced were a direct result of race based policies. You don't think this would have lasting impact on a large % of the targeted group? The shit makes me furious just writing about it, and honestly I still don't understand why AAs as a group support the idea of big government.

You want to talk about poor Whites, or the historical disenfranchisement of Asians? We can brainstorm policies to address that. But it does not diminish the debt the U.S. owes to AAs.

One last thing: Using other countries as an example of how to deal with reparations is weak. We aren't Russia, China or some poor war torn third world country. This is America and we are supposed to be the greatest country in the world. We are supposed to be the lead. WTF would we copy standards from other countries? Or more specifically, since we have already paid reparations numerous times, why would would we only follow their lead when it applies to AAs? Stop it with this.

+1. Great post. So much truth, but most of these folks don't understand or care.

Please, that was a terrible post. We are already paying reparations through state-sponsored discriminatory admissions and hiring processes. I would rather pay a lump sum than deal with BS from unqualified people for the rest of my life.

Not PP, but lets ride with your comment for a second. You think EEO and affirmative action laws, which make it illegal for institutions to discriminate based on race (among other things), and which require racial minorities to be considered when making decisions, are "discriminatory?" You consider laws that require institutions to do what they are morally supposed to do, reparations? LOL

The Trump School of Trolling has failed you my friend.

They're getting more than merely being "considered," my friend - they're getting preferential treatment over whites when it comes to higher education admissions, job hires, and promotions. That's reparations.

Preferential treatment specifically for AAs would indeed be considered a form of reparations, so you are right about that. Too bad the results say this hasn't happened. AAs have historically been, and currently are, sorely underrepresented in nearly all facets of corporate America, government, and academia. An effective reparations program would have had significantly better results because it would be specifically targeted for AAs.

The real problem here is that you do not believe AAs deserve reparations. Otherwise, even if your claim of preferential treatment were true, you would not be complaining about it. So just own that.

I know your heart is in the right place, and you should get some credit for that. AAs do get preferential treatment under employment affirmative action. There's no question about that. That's literally how it works. Maybe consider that there might be other reasons that minorities and women are underrepresented in board rooms?

Not PP, but you don't make sense. There are no laws on the books that require firms or schools to select or hire minorities specifically on the basis of their race. That is preferential treatment. Your comment also assumes minorities selected are not qualified. That's NOT how it works. Even if it did, many in the majority have enjoy preferential treatment for centuries. They still do. You citing examples of poor whites does not disqualify this fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

So just give them money? What if someone is biracial? Do we give them half as much? How much money does Oprah get (because I don't think she needs any)?

I suggest reduced mortgage rates for African-Americans nationwide to A) compensate for the stifling social and financial injustices implemented for decades by the government denying them access to wealth and to B) greater reduce the population of over-crowded inner cities which contribute to their continued disenfranchisement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You guys really love you some reparations, huh? Lots of people on here trying to reason away why we (the U.S.) should not owe AAs reparations. Opposition to the debt this country owes AAs is a clear denial of history. AA success in this country has happened DESPITE continued institutionalized racism and oppression.

It's undeniable that the U.S. government owes a moral debt to AAs. Period. I'm White/Asian, and I'm a lifelong conservative. I can easily admit this b/c history makes it very clear. We can disagree or debtate how we payback this debt, and who its specifically owed to, but to ignore it or explain it away with things like "Whites didn't own slaves" or "My family wasn't here, or didn't have slaves, so I shouldn't owe" is really meaningless. Its not about you personally. Its not about whites. Its not even completely about poverty. Its about the U.S. government as an institution and the atrocities it engaged in or allowed, for centuries, on the basis of skin color.

The debt owed to AAs is with the U.S. government. We (tax paying citizens) pay for things we were directly not responsible for all the time. We have paid out billions to Iran, and middle eastern countries to right wrongs. We paid the Native Americans billions and allow tax breaks. We paid Japanese Americans billions, who were relatively new to this country BTW in general. We even paid slave owners reparations after abolishing slavery.

Lets not stop there. We pay when government officials make mistakes or commit atrocities (e.g. police shootings, sexual harassment claims). We pay for policy failures of past federal and local admintrations with our tax dollars. Why all of sudden do we push the brakes when we talk about paying back the very people whose ancestors built this country for free with their blood? Why is THIS one the cardinal sin? This is baffling to me.

For those fixated on "that was in the past we don't owe anyone anything," what about more current atrocities like the effective exclusion of blacks from the GI bill that help rebuild the white middle class, oppressive voting restrictions, housing discrimination, lack of access to credit, watered down affirmative action and civil rights laws, non-enforcement of civil rights laws, racial disparities in sentencing and LE practices. You want to focus on class and ignore race when the issues AAs faced were a direct result of race based policies. You don't think this would have lasting impact on a large % of the targeted group? The shit makes me furious just writing about it, and honestly I still don't understand why AAs as a group support the idea of big government.

You want to talk about poor Whites, or the historical disenfranchisement of Asians? We can brainstorm policies to address that. But it does not diminish the debt the U.S. owes to AAs.

One last thing: Using other countries as an example of how to deal with reparations is weak. We aren't Russia, China or some poor war torn third world country. This is America and we are supposed to be the greatest country in the world. We are supposed to be the lead. WTF would we copy standards from other countries? Or more specifically, since we have already paid reparations numerous times, why would would we only follow their lead when it applies to AAs? Stop it with this.

+1. Great post. So much truth, but most of these folks don't understand or care.

Please, that was a terrible post. We are already paying reparations through state-sponsored discriminatory admissions and hiring processes. I would rather pay a lump sum than deal with BS from unqualified people for the rest of my life.

Not PP, but lets ride with your comment for a second. You think EEO and affirmative action laws, which make it illegal for institutions to discriminate based on race (among other things), and which require racial minorities to be considered when making decisions, are "discriminatory?" You consider laws that require institutions to do what they are morally supposed to do, reparations? LOL

The Trump School of Trolling has failed you my friend.

They're getting more than merely being "considered," my friend - they're getting preferential treatment over whites when it comes to higher education admissions, job hires, and promotions. That's reparations.

Preferential treatment specifically for AAs would indeed be considered a form of reparations, so you are right about that. Too bad the results say this hasn't happened. AAs have historically been, and currently are, sorely underrepresented in nearly all facets of corporate America, government, and academia. An effective reparations program would have had significantly better results because it would be specifically targeted for AAs.

The real problem here is that you do not believe AAs deserve reparations. Otherwise, even if your claim of preferential treatment were true, you would not be complaining about it. So just own that.

I know your heart is in the right place, and you should get some credit for that. AAs do get preferential treatment under employment affirmative action. There's no question about that. That's literally how it works. Maybe consider that there might be other reasons that minorities and women are underrepresented in board rooms?

Not PP, but you don't make sense. There are no laws on the books that require firms or schools to select or hire minorities specifically on the basis of their race. That is preferential treatment. Your comment also assumes minorities selected are not qualified. That's NOT how it works. Even if it did, many in the majority have enjoy preferential treatment for centuries. They still do. You citing examples of poor whites does not disqualify this fact.

Did I say there are laws on the books? I did not. Please try to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

Well, that's a quote from someone who works in the most liberal college system in the country, and he has his own bias.

There are reasons for asset accumulation (or lack of it) other than discrimination. You can't blame EVERYTHING on racism. What about making responsible financial decisions? What about staying in school (at least through high school)? What about waiting until you're married to have children? (There's a strong correlation between out-of-wedlock births and poverty.) Discrimination is but one factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

BS. Look at immigrant families who go from zero net worth to sending their kids to college to in one generation.

As for paths to homeownership, there are many programs that do such that , including, but not limited to:

Providing $50 million to implement the American Dream Downpayment Fund, which will enable more people to become homeowners by offering them downpayment assistance - often the biggest hurdle to homeownership. HUD expanded the program and provide $200 million in 2003.

Increased flexibility of the Section 8 voucher program to permit low-income families to use up to one year's worth of the vouchers for the downpayment on a home, a move that could help hundreds of thousands families to buy their own home.

Giving $17.5 million in housing counseling assistance grants to 11 national and regional intermediary agencies and 358 local and state housing counseling agencies to counsel both current and would-be homeowners about their responsibilities and rights as owners and renters.

Increasing housing counseling grants to a total of $35 million for housing counseling.

Simplification of FHA's streamline refinance transactions, which enable homeowners to have lower monthly mortgage payments without having to bring additional cash to the settlement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

Well, that's a quote from someone who works in the most liberal college system in the country, and he has his own bias.

There are reasons for asset accumulation (or lack of it) other than discrimination. You can't blame EVERYTHING on racism. What about making responsible financial decisions? What about staying in school (at least through high school)? What about waiting until you're married to have children? (There's a strong correlation between out-of-wedlock births and poverty.) Discrimination is but one factor.

True indeed and those same irresponsible financial and life decisions have hampered whites too but if you're deadset on the idea that discrimination is negligible then do your thing I won't bother trying to convince you otherwise it would be an exercise in futility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

So just give them money? What if someone is biracial? Do we give them half as much? How much money does Oprah get (because I don't think she needs any)?

I suggest reduced mortgage rates for African-Americans nationwide to A) compensate for the stifling social and financial injustices implemented for decades by the government denying them access to wealth and to B) greater reduce the population of over-crowded inner cities which contribute to their continued disenfranchisement.

Do women get reduced mortgage rates too? They didn't have access to mortgages historically. How do we determine who is African American? Do we do blood tests or just look at their skin color?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Lipsitz, Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of over half a dozen books said, "net worth is almost totally determined by past opportunities for asset accumulation, and therefore is the one figure most likely to reflect the history of discrimination."
Studies show that the median white family - about 41 million households across the nation - have a net worth of $116,000 dollars while nearly 40 percent or 5.6 million African-American homes in the U.S. have zero or negative net worth. Reparations should be instituted to provide a path for more African-Americans to have homeownership and subsequently improve their net worth.

BS. Look at immigrant families who go from zero net worth to sending their kids to college to in one generation.

As for paths to homeownership, there are many programs that do such that , including, but not limited to:

Providing $50 million to implement the American Dream Downpayment Fund, which will enable more people to become homeowners by offering them downpayment assistance - often the biggest hurdle to homeownership. HUD expanded the program and provide $200 million in 2003.

Increased flexibility of the Section 8 voucher program to permit low-income families to use up to one year's worth of the vouchers for the downpayment on a home, a move that could help hundreds of thousands families to buy their own home.

Giving $17.5 million in housing counseling assistance grants to 11 national and regional intermediary agencies and 358 local and state housing counseling agencies to counsel both current and would-be homeowners about their responsibilities and rights as owners and renters.

Increasing housing counseling grants to a total of $35 million for housing counseling.

Simplification of FHA's streamline refinance transactions, which enable homeowners to have lower monthly mortgage payments without having to bring additional cash to the settlement.

My grandparents came to this country escaping religious persecution in Europe. (Their families ultimately perished.) They had no money and didn't speak a word of English. They didn't bemoan their history and unfair treatment, but scraped and sacrificed to make a better life. A generation later, every single one of their children was a college graduate and upper-middle class. (And they sure didn't have any of these government assistance programs the above poster listed.)