6 ms·
California increases proposed reparation payments to $360K per person
- Kenji 4y ago[dead]
- kristianp 4y agoReparation for what you might ask? For the descendants of Slaves. Maybe slave should be in the title to save clicks.
- edgyquant 4y agoI don’t think any American would be asking “for what.” Reparations mean one thing here.
- jacooper 4y agoHN isn't only for Americans
- ethanbond 4y agoBut California is
- lettergram 4y agoIdk plenty of Irish we’re slaves. Disallowed from speaking their language, illegal to own land, landlords took all their food, etc. Could also be for the Japanese during WWII who were shipped off to camps for months to years. Land taken; etc. Could easily be for them /s
- eftychis 4y agoTrue partially. There are reparations related to WWII. In fact if you mostly refer to reparations you usually refer to WWII in Europe. But specifically to California and WWII: Japanese Americans received reparations for the internment. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/03/24/820181127/the-unlikely-story-behind-japanese-americans-campaign-for-reparations https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/03/24/820181127...
- striking 4y agoYou can email the mods these kinds of suggestions.
- yladiz 4y agoJeez. Why did you write it like that? The title is from the article (minus, "report says") and the way you've written your comment is unnecessarily inflammatory.
- outside1234 4y agoIs it April 1st? Can we just pave the streets please?
- bombcar 4y agoApparently they might as well add a pony, too. Why not suggest something workable like excluding them from income taxes for life?
- eftychis 4y agoI guess they figured that would cost them more. Note that I am guessing they are going to tax that 360k.
- baremetal 4y agoI'm not sure I understand why.
- frugalmail 4y agoAt its peak 1.5% of the population in the US had slaves of all kinds Native, White, Black, Asian. Most objected as it took jobs away. California in particular didn't have slaves, and rejected slavery before it was even part of the union.
- stackstacker 4y agoThey should give their land back to Mexico.
- bigyikes 4y agoSpain really ought to be paying reparations to those Aztecs…
- gotoeleven 4y agoAnd aztecs should be paying reparations to the people whose skulls they used for their aztec basketball! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame
- davemp 4y ago> When reached for comment the task force told TND that "no final recommendations or financial reparations have been finalized or presented yet to the California Legislature." Which makes this article basically just rage bait.
- uejfiweun 4y agoThis is not "California" as a whole. This is some commission with no power except to make recommendations, which was hastily founded in June 2020... yeah. These proposals have zero chance of becoming law. Quite frankly, shame on these people in the commission, because this does nothing but create a giant mismatch between expectations and reality, and it will only end with people getting pissed off at each other.
- kyboren 4y agoThe commission was created by legislation authored by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. It's not like this is some random group of academics with no political power. I agree that it has little chance of becoming law, though. And if Democrat machine politicians and true believers like Shirley Weber somehow push this through it'd be one of the few things that could make the Republican party viable again in California. We ought not to get complacent, though. It's an unworkable policy with a litany of obvious problems and it would be a catastrophe for California if it passed. Better to speak out now than complain later about how it all went wrong.
- GuardianCaveman 4y agoIf the point of this is to correct the disadvantages faced by ancestors which cascade through the generations then it should be determined by number of ancestors not a single qualifying ancestor. If I am 2% African American 98% white, and my 2% ancestor was a slave, do I get the same as someone who the majority of their ancestors from that period were slaves? Did our ancestors face the same amount of disadvantages?
- ashwagary 4y agoI believe an enslaved ancestor has to be on a certain census and you have to identify as black on government documents. The 2% claim wont work under these rules.
- gotoeleven 4y agoI think the historically accepted ratio is 3/5
- gotoeleven 4y agoThis might be worth it if it meant we could in return end the racialized government subsidy systems that are in place. Of course, that wouldn't happen. After all the money is spent and nothing has changed there will just be calls for more reparations.
- ashwagary 4y ago>After all the money is spent and nothing has changed there will just be calls for more reparations. If the future claims of damages are valid, they must be paid and justice must be served.
- IceHegel 4y agoSo California, a state where slavery was never legal, is going to tax its citizens, many of whom were not in the country when slavery was legal in the south, and call it justice?
- jackblemming 4y agoAmerica is very sick and likes performative art like this instead of actually helping people. Last I checked there's plenty of homeless people (of all ethnicities) who could use some real help in California. Future generations are going to get a real kick out of how sick it is on multiple levels.
- gotoeleven 4y agoCalifornia: hey this drug addicted mentally ill homeless guy says the only way to help him is to make it easier to do drugs, shoplift, and poop on the streets. I think we should give it a try!
- eftychis 4y agoThe article talks specifically for California's sins related to Black slaves descendants -- using terminology in the article. I am also a bit confused. I had the impression that California never allowed slaves. I found this https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/historic-california-law-establishes-path-reparations-black-people-descendants-slaves-n1241627 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/historic-california-law... "California was founded as a free state, or a state where slavery was illegal, in 1850, yet several laws made significant allowances for residents to retain enslaved people so long as they lived in California temporarily or bought the slaves before statehood." But I don't see any specific legal references. And even then the article on the decision of the task force is hand wavy at best. So there were loopholes, but what is the extent and do the descendants have to somehow prove their ancestors lived in California? I mean thumbs up, but yeah, my ancestors were slaves and had to fight for their freedom, so where does California stand on that by this reasoning?
- ashwagary 4y ago>a state where slavery was never legal My understanding is California had massive slave plantations some run by the mormon church, and the state was a major beneficiary of land confiscation among other things. >many of whom were not in the country when slavery was legal The country has a massive outstanding debt to uncompensated laborers that built the economic foundation. You benefit from that labor upon arrival in the US. If you do not want to pay the debt for the privilige of being in the US, the easiest method is to turn in your passport and leave the country.
- dcow 4y agoAs with any social justice topic, I always ask: what is the end game? When does the injustice stop? When will we be happy? If you can't provide an answer, then I am hesitant to buy in. If you can provide an answer, then it signals to me that you are fighting to solve a clear problem, one for which there is a clear and achievable solution, and so my time and effort are worth contributing. So, SJWs of HN: would a payment of 360K to every black person with slave lineage be enough? Would we be done with race issues and finally able to move on to other problems? If yes, I'm in and I'll even donate to fund the reparations (though I disagree with the concept, personally). But if no, then what does this achieve and how would it be (were it to actually happen) anything other than a powerful political group voting themselves money straight from the treasury?
- uejfiweun 4y agoWow, this is a great way to point out the logical inconsistencies behind many of these feel-good social justice topics. Going to remember this tactic.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- ashwagary 4y ago>would a payment of 360K to every black person with slave lineage be enough? Would we be done with race issues and finally able to move on to other problems? Its a debt owed, not a favor. Nobody from the harmed group will owe anyone anything in return. Since the payment was delayed and robbery was a continual and extended practice of the dominant society in partnership with the local, state, and federal governments, any additional verifiable claim they make for damages must be considered and if valid, they must be compensated for. The benefit of paying a hefty penalty for massive crimes against fellow citizens, is nobody will feel comfortable repeating the crimes on your family or mine in the future when they know the high price they will pay.
- yucky 4y ago[flagged]
- keeptrying 4y agoOne side effect of this is that it will make housing even more unaffordable in the Bay and California as there will be a surge in demand.
- mrtweetyhack 4y ago[dead]
- gremlinsinc 4y agoWhy not make the reparations: Free College, More funding for schools in predominantly African American neighborhoods, to raise the quality, and guaranteed rental assistance when needed. In ensures more people get the things they need, than a one time windfall, it also gives upward mobility in the long-term.
- jfengel 4y agoThat might be a more appropriate action for California, which plays only a very small part in the overall issue of slavery. It's not really appropriate for them to be discussing cash reparations, but they are responsible for organizing their state laws for the best overall welfare of all its citizens. At a national level, however, cash would be better than telling people what they need. The problem of reparations is a national issue. Slavery was nationally legal, and people all over the country benefitted from the trade. It was up to the nation to ban slavery, and it took much too long to do so. Even after it did, it allowed numerous abuses of the former slaves and their descendants. That is a debt, moral and financial, owed by the nation. And the best way to pay it is with money, and let them figure out how to spend it. We might also couple that with local measures designed to improve the welfare of all citizens -- which may include targeting people who have had long historical disadvantages that not even cash reparations can fix.