California Panel Approves $800 Billion Reparations Package

California is still wrestling with the whole reparations question and has been for quite a while now. But yesterday, the task force assigned to look into the matter took a series of votes and approved several recommendations. None of these are moving immediately into law, but they are intended to inform the legislature so that final proposals can be voted on.

They agreed on some form of apology and cash reparations. They didn’t specify an amount, but an earlier version of the proposal called for payments of at least $360,000. Of course, this plan would only apply to Black residents and not any other minorities. And the total bill would add up to more than two and a half times the state’s entire annual budget, even as California faces a significant budget shortfall. (NY Post)

California’s reparations task force voted in favor of multiple recommendations Saturday that could cut a minimum of $360,000 in checks to its eligible black residents.

The nine-member committee gave final approval at a meeting in Oakland to a hefty list of proposals aimed at rectifying racial inequalities across the state.

“Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but they have the potential to address long standing racial disparities and inequalities,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said during the meeting.

This plan, if it is somehow approved, wouldn’t be nearly as crazy as the one being considered by San Francisco. The City by the Bay is looking at making all Black residents into instant multimillionaires with free homes and freedom from paying taxes for the rest of their lives. But the proposed state plan is still pretty insane.

To be clear, we are still talking about reparations in a state where slavery was never legal that would be given to people who have never been enslaved and paid for by people who have never owned slaves. Since the panel has been reminded of this far more often than they might wish, they expanded the definition of who would be entitled. The list would include Black people if “they or a family member was incarcerated, whether they faced housing discrimination and other prejudicial factors.”

So if you happen to be Black and you went to jail, you’re in for a big payday even if you actually committed the crime you were accused of. And all of your family members get a piece of the action as well. And how many Californians would qualify? They have no idea. Nobody has run the numbers and it will likely be impossible to come up with specific definitions. Would the criteria include “how Black” a person is? For example, would biracial people qualify? What if you had one Black grandparent? Or can you simply “identify” as being Black?

Hispanic people will not be receiving a seat on the gravy train because they apparently have never been incarcerated, oppressed, or faced discrimination. And you won’t hear a word about reparations for Asian Americans, despite the fact that San Francisco was the home of the original Chinatown in the 1850s. (You can read a brief history of the horrifying conditions Chinese settlers in California faced in this report. It was worse than official slavery in many cases.)

But if that’s how you want to spend your money, I suppose that’s your business, California. But while we’re on the subject, where will that money be coming from? Last time I checked, the state budget was in such catastrophic shape that you might not even be able to keep all of the trains and subways running. The proposed budget adds up to roughly $260 billion. The proposed reparations would cost $800 billion. I’m no math expert, but something here doesn’t seem to be adding up.