Reckless Reparations

George Rebane

We as a nation-state have now reached the nadir of cohesion that keeps a society together and working to serve its collective needs.  This has been achieved through the introduction of a reparations policy for the nation’s black population, the cohort of Americans whose ancestors may have been enslaved by whites during the early decades of our republic.  The reparations in the form of cash payments collected from non-blacks are supposed assuage the alleged race-based suffering by blacks and cleanse some of the guilt that still burdens those who may have had slave-owning ancestors.

As many have made clear, the enforcement of such a policy is not only impossible, but its attempt will definitely contribute to the growing forces that will finally rend our country into a collection of warring tribes.  Such paths to internecine conflict are well known and have been practiced countless times before – they always end with blood.

I don’t understand how such a large number of Americans today can support this kind of forcible wealth transfer that will forever differentiate us both legally and fiscally.  Both sides will proudly carry their memberships in the ranks of the givers and takers.  The givers will always be seen as the descendants of racists (if not racists per se), indicted and found guilty of the alleged systemic racism running rampant across the land.  The takers will be confirmed as having one more race-based benefit that adds to the trillions in wealth already having been distributed to them (since the start of Great Society), and undeserved due to their outsized and ongoing contributions to the nation’s crime, educational decline, family break-up, and drug problems.  These endemic societal ills in the black community will not be diminished by any imaginable sums they will be paid by the ridiculously lavish amounts now being contemplated by Democrats in Sacramento.

The factors that contribute to the utter foolishness and insanity of instituting such a wealth transfer program are outlined in Victor Davis Hanson’s ‘Reckless Reparations Reckoning’.

Comments

[Michael Kesti]

I don't believe that these proposed reparations will ever come to fruition and have an idea as to why politicians are climbing aboard this bandwagon nonetheless. I believe that it is an excellent vote-getter. It allows politicians to be on the record for favoring reparations while being able to claim that they were stopped by the evil meanies on the other side and incurring no risk of having to produce the funds. Those who would have benefitted from the reparations will, of course, be more likely to vote for those who favored them as long as the former choose to ignore the obvious lies made directly to their faces. Ain't politics grand?

[scenes]

" I believe that it is an excellent vote-getter."

Not just that, but there's bound to be an entire sub-industry of lawyers, public speakers, 'non-profits' involved. There's money to be made even in the asking. Maybe they could get some of that sweet BLM money.

As usual, a bunch of unearned free money is bound to create even more social problems, so the potential for excitement is always there. Generally I'd say that the average human, some cultures more so than others (is there a DNA angle? dunno), has to be forced to be useful/busy/non-troublemaking. Food and shelter can sharpen one's focus. It's always the circle that refuses to be squared, how do you help people without harming them? Even if there wasn't a grifting problem for charity built in from the get-go, the answer isn't obvious.

If you assume an upcoming tsunami of unemployment because of automation & AI & economies of scale, maybe the answer is to simply send everyone a monthly allotment of marijuana. It'll help the local dope growers, gets people to lollygag around, isn't quite the fight-starter that a 12 pack of beer and a bitchy ol' lady can be. Just a thought.

[The Estonian Fox]

Let's change the definition of reparations. Let's call it CONTRIBUTIVE justice.

That is, an individual’s right to contribute to the common-good of society, based on their skills and abilities. Shift focus from today’s one-sided emphasis on redistributive justice. That way, everyone might benefit.

[D. Pecker, Enquirer]

The cash reparations idea sounds "feel good" but the damage has already been done centuries ago.

Judging by the activities of Blacks today trashing stores, drug use and sales, kids growing up without fathers in the home, the generational welfare mentality, difficulty finding jobs, and discrimination, racism and violence against Blacks we can see that American culture has not protected Blacks, and Black culture has not helped either.

Just giving Blacks a bunch of spending cash is not going to change anything.

Reparations in the form of free education and employment that pays enough for them to plan for a future of home ownership and raising stable families would be a better idea.

[Gregory]

There's no living black (A) that has been a slave under the law.

There's no living other than black (B) that has been a slave owner under tha law.

It is a perversion of the law to take money from current B's to give to A's, no matter how wealthy the A or poor the B.

[Scott O]

Pecker 12:54 - "Reparations in the form of free education and employment that pays enough for them to plan for a future of home ownership and raising stable families would be a better idea."

They already have that opportunity and very few take advantage of it.

"we can see that American culture has not protected Blacks"

Because they're not treated as adults who are responsible for their own actions.
The Dems "war on poverty" (vote buying) was and is a disaster. Our govt has made it way to easy to just exist. Humans need to struggle and work hard to actually thrive.
The Dems and a lot of black leaders reject this as being part of an evil white culture.
You can give the blacks any amount of stuff and they will never be happy.
That's how parents spoil their children and turn them into useless trouble makers.
I fully agree that blacks are treated badly on the whole by our society. And the fault lays fully at the feet of the white Dems and the left.

[Psul the Magnificent]

"the fault lays fully at the feet of the white Dems and the left"

Of course it does Scott. We know that your easy answer for everything.

... and Der Gropenfuhrer Trump won.

[Scott O]

"We know that(sic) your easy answer for everything."

Wrong - that is not my answer for everything by a long shot. I made it plain that this statement applied to the topic at hand concerning the situation today with a lot of the blacks in this country. Some Rs have really F'd things up. And some are content to hold on to their seat and play Dem-lite.
As soon as you can have a reply prepared that is intelligently responsive to the points I've made, c'mon by again. White Dems are openly racist. In Oregon they proudly came out and said blacks are too stupid to learn what white kids learn so just give them HS diplomas no matter what. Makes you lefty whites proud.

[Psul the Magnificent]

Scott 406pm

"In Oregon they proudly came out and said blacks are too stupid to learn what white kids learn so just give them HS diplomas no matter what."

I am not aware of any such statement being made by the state of Oregon or any of its official representatives. In fact, such a statement would be discriminatory and offensive. It is important to base our beliefs and opinions on credible and reliable sources of information, and to avoid spreading false or unfounded rumors or claims.

But hey, that Scott for ya. No attributions necessary.

[George Rebane]

PtM 345pm - When they lower the basketball hoop for kids, and make other concessions which recognize that certain classes of participants cannot engage at the level of fully developed players, we tacitly acknowledge their developmental deficits and use easier versions of merit-based competitions to encourage them to keep trying to improve. The same goes for students in academic studies without anyone having to explicitly say that the easier challenges admit that their target participants are not yet ready to compete on level playing fields. And when such inter-generational shortcomings continue, then one is naturally invited to seek more systemic explanations for what is observed.

None of this should be taken as prima facie evidence for the aggerate performance of our black students being intrinsically subpar. A much more visible and simpler explanation for this can be laid at the feet of the Democratic Party which has successfully weaponized welfare policies to destroy generations of African-American families and communities.

[Gregory]

George 532p

... otherwise known as the soft bigotry of low expectations.

[Scott O]

"I am not aware of any such statement being made by the state of Oregon..."

Did you look into it?
A hallmark of lefties is their lack of awareness of reality.
Found this in 3 seconds:
https://jonathanturley.org/2021/08/10/oregon-suspends-need-for-high-school-graduates-to-be-proficient-in-reading-writing-and-math/
"Charles Boyle, the deputy communications director from Gov. Brown’s office, is quoted as saying that the new standards for graduation will help benefit the state’s “Black, Latino, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”"

How in the world does it benefit a person to be shoved out into the world at age 18 being illiterate and ignorant? That's actually child cruelty.

[Scott O]

"It is important to base our beliefs and opinions on credible and reliable sources of information, and to avoid spreading false or unfounded rumors or claims."

Well, duh - you might mention that to Paul Emery.

[Don Bessee]

The conflict between the creepy grampa joe illegals invasion spending and inner city blacks is growing -

Mainor justified her position by noting that some schools in her district have 3% reading proficiency rates and that many kids cannot do simple math.

Mainor then explained that parents are upset that some politicians "put the teachers union and donors ahead of their constituents."

"It's ironic. I'll say every election year, I hear ‘Black Lives Matter.’ But do they? I see every other minority being prioritized except Black children living in poverty that can't read," Mainor argued.

"We'll send $1,000,000 to the border for immigrant services. But Black communities, not even a shout-out. I'm sorry, I don't agree with this," she added. "I'm not backing down and I'm actually just getting started."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/georgia-democrat-calls-party-opposing-school-choice-prioritizing-migrants-inner-city-kids

;-)

[Don Bessee]

Screw the citizens and federal law -

The University of California (UC) system is moving toward hiring undocumented students for student-employment positions despite federal law banning the practice.

UC President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib said in a statement on Thursday that the board has appointed a working group that will consider relevant issues to ensuring all students have employment opportunities regardless of the immigration status. The group will develop an implementation plan and legal strategy by November and whether, how and when to take the next steps.

“The University is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their immigration status, can pursue and attain a world-class UC education,” they said. “This should include providing enriching student employment opportunities to all students.”

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 established civil and criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and those not authorized to work in the United States.

But the university could face legal action over its plan and has been considering any potential public backlash it would receive and the legal risk for faculty and staff who hire the students.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/university-california-moves-toward-hiring-134619417.html

;-)

[scenes]

DonB@9:01

'"We'll send $1,000,000 to the border for immigrant services. But Black communities, not even a shout-out. I'm sorry, I don't agree with this," she added. "I'm not backing down and I'm actually just getting started."'

Mainor's district is a chunk of Atlanta, no?

Atlanta's annual school spending is $22,600 per student. Make what you will of that. Similar to Los Angeles I think. Side note: New York City is spending $38k/student. (Boise is $10k).

My take is that we should spend $100k/student and pay the teachers a quarter million per year with a huge retirement pension. Maybe add another 100% more administrators. The money can all be borrowed by the federal government and handed out to the states without restrictions.

I mean, why not? It'll be good for a laugh.