Reply to It's (finally) time for reparations. It's time for the US to pay its debt.

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Reply to "It's (finally) time for reparations. It's time for the US to pay its debt. "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I absolutely agree that systemic racism in nearly all aspects of society have put African Americans at a significant disadvantage in life.  And I think I agree with the essay's assertion that the wealth gap is  a fairly large part of why it is hard for public policies to break free of the vicious cycle we're in.

The article spent a lot of time arguing why reparations are important (and perhaps "fair") but didn't make much of an argument that particular types of reparations (such as the cash payments it calls for) would actually help.  If anything, the article's assertion that much of this comes down to a wealth gap makes me think that cash payments *wouldn't* help. I don't think it's realistic to think that lump sum payments on that scale would be: 1) politically or financially feasible, or 2) particularly likely to have a long-term impact.[/quote]

Yes, I’m not sure lump sum payments are the way to go but should be considered. -OP

Congress should fund an assessment. 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/40

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Well, since the article says the wealth gap is the problem, is there some means of changing someone's wealth that isn't a payment?[/quote]

Maybe equity in home ownership. We should explore options to figure out the most effective way to build wealth.

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I'd be for a bigger mortgage tax break for minorities than for middle-class whites. Although implementing that is also fraught with difficulty, so maybe this would have to turn into a bigger tax break for all low income people (as long as their income wasn't non-taxable municipal bonds, etc).

Meanwhile, financial education in high schools could help.
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How would black people living in poverty today with no job prospects get a mortgage?

Financial literacy is important for everyone. Doesn’t do much good when you don’t have any money.

There is no magical way to transform no wealth into great wealth simply by learning more about how to manage one’s money.

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Yes, of course there is. Everyone started there. [/quote]

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