Regardless of the merits of your article (which personally I found sophomoric), this is not the time to revisit the issue of reparations. We have one chance to take back our country and we can’t afford to muddy the waters with extremely divisive issues like this. It may make you feel good to atone for your white privilege, but most voters don’t agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there may be a moral basis for reparations. But wouldn’t the economic benefits of race based affirmative action over the last decades have to be taken into account too, to arrive at an appropriate payment amount?

I think there is a moral argument against reparations. There are no living freed slaves in this country. Racial inequality is a separate issue that can and should be addressed separately.

What about economic inequality?

The coming revolution will take care of that.

JK (sort of)

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm all for paying higher taxes to provide healthcare for all, better schools, and free college for lower-income kids.

I worked in development for 10 years and huge cash transfers aren't the way to go. Teach a man to fish and all that.

How about other forms of reparations?

Do you support the principle but not just handing out cash?

NP here. The principle is abhorrent. My parents and grandparents recieved Holocaust reparations from the German government. That was for their suffering. I would not accept reparations for me. I did not suffer anything close to what they went through.

On the other hand, I do believe society has an obligation to assist people who are poor today. Present conditions that keep them in poverty should be fixed. They are entitled to a decent life and opportunities. Cash is okay, but jobs at living wages is better.

Otherwise, we will be saying Oprah deserves "reparations," but a poor white who grew up in poverty deserves nothing.

What if your parents had never been paid? What if Israel wasn't formed? What if extensive systemic antisemitism was still happening today?

Did you know that the US government still pays (this year $5 million) to support Holocaust survivors living in America? And $3.8B in military aid to Israel in 2019.

Even, some slave owners were compensated:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/opinion/when-slaveowners-got-reparations.html


How much has the US ever paid to survivors of slavery and other forms of black oppression?

My mother's family was compensated. Due to the vagaries of history, my father's family was not. That's how it goes. I would not accept money for him.

Military aid to Israel is not reparations. It's a military alliance. Formation of Israel was perhaps reparations, but that benefited actual refugees, and unfortunately created other refugees who are still suffering.

What about Indians? We took 100 per cent of their land. Do we give it back?

What about Chinese railroad builders? They weren't paid very well and faced years of discrimination. Do they get back compensation for what they should have been paid?

What about women for the last 5,000 years? So many were slaves to their husbands. Do today's men owe women payment for our grandfathers beating our grandmothers?


The point is, history is history. The winners and the losers all end up dead. Their joys and sufferings are over. We can't fix what happened to the dead, not even in theory.

We can however make the world better for those who suffer today. That's what we should be talking about.

I'd be all for creating a sovereign wealth fund for the United States. We have so much money in the country that could be used for wayyyyyyy better investments than crappy programs like social security.

A sovereign wealth fund can be created without increasing taxes, and it can be weighted in its distribution for shares based on HHI. Those below a certain threshold get more shares than those above it. This would attack the root problem of wealth inequality that transcends race, and at the same time African Americans would benefit more because they have less wealth than white people. But its a smarter political play because white people can still benefit too if they're below a threshold. Wealth inequality is a problem for every race.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there may be a moral basis for reparations. But wouldn’t the economic benefits of race based affirmative action over the last decades have to be taken into account too, to arrive at an appropriate payment amount?

I think there is a moral argument against reparations. There are no living freed slaves in this country. Racial inequality is a separate issue that can and should be addressed separately.

What about economic inequality?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any reparations money will likely disappear in a just a few years.

Looking to lottery winners as an example, the money disappears quickly and doesn't result in generational advantages. If one was to implement reparations, cash payments are a shirt term solution at best.

Do you agree with reparations, but just not as cash distributions?

There have been plenty of social programs which have been an attempt at reparation. Some include cash welfare. Some have been housing loans (235). These were not necessarily geared to AA, but they have been included in these programs. Affirmative action was also implemented.


And, some of these have worked for some and not for others. At some point, there is the issue of personal responsibility. After all, some have had great success. It is possible to get out of the system. Ben Carson is an example. Tim Scott is another.

This is not limited to race. There are plenty of white people who never get out of poverty, as well. Yes. There are racists. But, race isn't always the issue. No question, that racism has played a role, but we have moved on. Are we there yet? Not sure. But, reparations will not fix it.

Those aren't reparations.

Did Ben Carson grow up impoverished?

How come Asians have higher median house hold incomes, have better test scores in school, and commit far less crimes than even white people even though they were also victims of historical injustices caused by the hands of white people? History doesn't seem to be keeping down Asian people who were barred from immigrating and owning land too. Why does an Asian immigrant who's arrived here within the last 40 years, and their kids, acquire more wealth than white people?

No one needs personal responsibility when you can get reparations.

Anonymous wrote:I think there may be a moral basis for reparations. But wouldn’t the economic benefits of race based affirmative action over the last decades have to be taken into account too, to arrive at an appropriate payment amount?

I think there is a moral argument against reparations. There are no living freed slaves in this country. Racial inequality is a separate issue that can and should be addressed separately.

I think there may be a moral basis for reparations. But wouldn’t the economic benefits of race based affirmative action over the last decades have to be taken into account too, to arrive at an appropriate payment amount?

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Anonymous wrote:Face it, OP. Nobody wants to read your article. Seems to be filled with lots of inaccurate or outright false information.

Isn't this by the creator of the 1619 Project? Enough said.

OMG! You are correct.
Not surprised that it is filled with falsehoods.

Please point out any inaccurate or false information.

Sound like you just don't want to face facts and the painful truth about our history. Until we do, we won't heal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any reparations money will likely disappear in a just a few years.

Looking to lottery winners as an example, the money disappears quickly and doesn't result in generational advantages. If one was to implement reparations, cash payments are a shirt term solution at best.

Do you agree with reparations, but just not as cash distributions?

There have been plenty of social programs which have been an attempt at reparation. Some include cash welfare. Some have been housing loans (235). These were not necessarily geared to AA, but they have been included in these programs. Affirmative action was also implemented.


And, some of these have worked for some and not for others. At some point, there is the issue of personal responsibility. After all, some have had great success. It is possible to get out of the system. Ben Carson is an example. Tim Scott is another.

This is not limited to race. There are plenty of white people who never get out of poverty, as well. Yes. There are racists. But, race isn't always the issue. No question, that racism has played a role, but we have moved on. Are we there yet? Not sure. But, reparations will not fix it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My white G+Grandfather died freeing the slaves fighting for the North.

My debt has been paid.

My family is on one of the state monuments at Gettysburg. Me too.

Did you read it? No one is asking you to pay.

-multiple ancestors who fought for the Union

Anonymous wrote:This will never happen, and rightly so.

Why is it right to continue to ignore the US's "original sin"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Face it, OP. Nobody wants to read your article. Seems to be filled with lots of inaccurate or outright false information.

Isn't this by the creator of the 1619 Project? Enough said.

OMG! You are correct.
Not surprised that it is filled with falsehoods.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By suggesting that there is a debt to be paid, you've revealed your true position.

You don’t think there is a debt to be paid?

Did you read the essay?

NP. No, I don't think there is a debt to be paid. I think a conversation about affirmative action and preferential hiring is much more relevant and meaningful. And full of controversy, so won't be dull.

Did you read it? I’m curious if you think the same after reading the essay.

Yes. I don't agree with the essay, it hasn't changed my mind.

I agree.
And, this comment is flat out false: "No progress has been made over the past 70 years in reducing income and wealth inequalities between black and white households"

Based on what data? She shares two studies that support that.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691619863049


https://www.minneapolisfed.org/institute/working-papers-institute/iwp9.pdf
"The historical data also reveal that no progress
has been made in reducing income and wealth inequalities between black and white households over the
past 70 years, and that close to half of all American households have less wealth today in real terms
than the median household had in 1970."


It seems that you support this point as well:
“These data suggest that Americans are largely unaware of the striking persistence of racial economic inequality in the United States,”