Today's Washington Post included an op-ed (unfortunately, probably behind a paywall for most) asserting that the US should pay reparations to Blacks who can trace their ancestry back to slaves (I believe around 10% of Blacks living in the US are immigrants).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...t-reparations/
The authors of the article have published a book on the subject,
From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century.
The gist of the article is that Blacks deserve $14 trillion in reparations and that it should be in direct payments. They criticized the Evanston, Ill. plan to pay reparations by subsidizing Black home ownership.
Since the end of the US presidential election and resulting insurrection has died down, this seems to be a good topic for getting some animosity flowing.
My take:
I concede that it is appropriate to give Blacks some sort of benefit for the losses suffered due to the legal impediments historically imposed on them. I do see some opportunities to discuss the proposal, however (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be posting).
The op-ed does not explain how the figure of $14 trillion was reached. This amount works out to somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000 per person (I think something on the order of 10% of the Blacks in the US are immigrants, so not all Blacks would qualify), which the authors believe should be paid directly to individuals. $350,000 is around the household net worth of the 80th percentile and nearly twice the median white household net worth. Is this really a realistic assessment of how much Black people have lost?
Another possible topic for discussion is whether all of the reparations should be paid to people who happen to be alive at a particular time. Should payments be spread out over time so that future generations can get a share?
There is also the issue of whether all the money should go to individuals or if some or all should be used for community projects, such as improved schools, more early childhood education, seed money for Black-owned businesses, and better infrastructure in Black neighborhoods.
For the economics-minded, there could be a debate over the inflationary impact of the government spending an additional $14 trillion dollars in the next few year.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...t-reparations/
The authors of the article have published a book on the subject,
From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century.
The gist of the article is that Blacks deserve $14 trillion in reparations and that it should be in direct payments. They criticized the Evanston, Ill. plan to pay reparations by subsidizing Black home ownership.
Since the end of the US presidential election and resulting insurrection has died down, this seems to be a good topic for getting some animosity flowing.
My take:
I concede that it is appropriate to give Blacks some sort of benefit for the losses suffered due to the legal impediments historically imposed on them. I do see some opportunities to discuss the proposal, however (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be posting).
The op-ed does not explain how the figure of $14 trillion was reached. This amount works out to somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000 per person (I think something on the order of 10% of the Blacks in the US are immigrants, so not all Blacks would qualify), which the authors believe should be paid directly to individuals. $350,000 is around the household net worth of the 80th percentile and nearly twice the median white household net worth. Is this really a realistic assessment of how much Black people have lost?
Another possible topic for discussion is whether all of the reparations should be paid to people who happen to be alive at a particular time. Should payments be spread out over time so that future generations can get a share?
There is also the issue of whether all the money should go to individuals or if some or all should be used for community projects, such as improved schools, more early childhood education, seed money for Black-owned businesses, and better infrastructure in Black neighborhoods.
For the economics-minded, there could be a debate over the inflationary impact of the government spending an additional $14 trillion dollars in the next few year.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/39jZBTp
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