Californians are on course to pay hundreds of billions in “reparations” to each black resident of the state according to figures suggested by a reparations panel this week, despite the fact that the state never allowed slavery.
Despite that, it is one of several states discussing the possibility of economic reparations for Black Americans whose ancestors were victimized by the Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath. The call for reparations gained significant momentum in 2020 following George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, but it continues to be a controversial issue both economically and culturally, Fox News reported.
California has recently reached an economic estimate on what it should cost: $1.2 million per black resident, over their lifetime, the San Francisco Chronicle noted further.
The task force on reparations in California is expected to suggest that the state offer apologies and provide “down payments” to black Californians as a means of compensating for slavery and racial discrimination, despite the fact that the state prohibited slavery when it became a part of the Union in 1850.
On Monday, the reparations task force established by California legislation and signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, published more than 500 pages of documents indicating that it plans to recommend California issue a formal apology for slavery and racism, and to consider making payments of varying amounts to eligible black residents as a form of reparations.
The Chronicle noted the massive number was merely a “rough, partial estimate of what it would cost the state to compensate Black people for that legacy of harm, according to a draft of the task force’s final report.”
The outlet went on to directly quote the report.
“Rather, it is an economically conservative initial assessment of what losses, at a minimum, the State of California caused or could have prevented, but did not,” the report stated. “(T)he Legislature would then have to decide how to translate loss-estimates into proposed reparations amounts.”
The Chronicle further noted that the panel’s work is ongoing.
“The panel is preparing its final report to send to the Legislature, which will include a recommendation on the amount and form of cash payments,” The Chronicle reported. “Task force members are expected to vote Saturday at Mills College in Oakland on whether to adopt the draft report, the capstone of its work after two years of tense meetings and in-depth research.”
The next step for the reparations task force will be to address the significant economic implications of the proposed reparations program, according to the report.
“Whatever the task force decides, the Legislature and Newsom will have the final say. If reparations are approved, state officials would have to figure out how to pay for the program,” The Chronicle reported. “An economist for the reparations panel has said the plan could cost California more than $800 billion; the state has a roughly $297 billion annual budget.”
In April, a member of the task force dismissed concerns about the total cost of the reparations program, which is nearly three times the state’s overall budget, stating that it was the “least important piece” of their proposal.
“It’s important, but it’s the least important in terms of being able to get to a point in our country’s history and in California’s history where we recognize that the harm cuts across multiple areas and domains and that the repair needs to align with that,” she said.
The Chronicle noted that the reparations program is not solely for the damages caused by slavery but also for other economic and cultural issues that are considered as the aftermath of slavery such as “Mass incarceration and over-policing in Black communities,” “discrimination in housing,” and “Health harms, including unequal access to health care, greater exposure to environmental pollution and discrimination from medical workers.”
