Posted on 08/20/2015 2:38:36 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In 1865, toward the end of the Civil War, Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman promised slaves that they’d receive 40 acres and a mule. Land was even set aside, but the promise was recanted by President Andrew Johnson. Ever since, the issue of reparations has come up many times, often fiercely debated. Although most Americans generally don’t support reparations, according to University of Connecticut researcher Thomas Craemer, it matters greatly how the question is worded, who would get reparations and in what form. For example, the idea of reparations paid in educational benefits are more popular than others, Craemer says.
On the other hand, one of the cases often made against reparations is that it'd be impractically difficult to calculate how to fairly take and give so many years after the fact. But in a new paper, published in the journal Social Science Quarterly, Craemer makes the case that there are other examples of historical reparations paid many decades later after “damages” were incurred. He also has come up with what he says is the most economically sound estimate to date of what reparations could cost: between $5.9 trillion and $14.2 trillion.
Craemer came up with those figures by tabulating how many hours all slaves—men, women and children—worked in the United States from when the country was officially established in 1776 until 1865, when slavery was officially abolished. He multiplied the amount of time they worked by average wage prices at the time, and then a compounding interest rate of 3 percent per year (more than making up for inflation). There is a range because the amount of time worked isn’t a hard figure....
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Did they include all the white people pretending to be black?
I don’t think generals can make binding promises.
Probably, although I have one of the 100 Trillion notes and it seems a bit stiff. I'm just wondering what the words "so many" are doing in there?
or not
We’ve already paid FAR more than that in programs, funding education, infrastructure, and other govt functions for non-taxpayers, property theft, etc. I could make this paragraph six inches longer talking about various ways we have paid, and continue to pay. In fact, since it exceeds the “reparations” estimate by trillions, I’ll be waiting for my check in the mail.
It’s what the whole White Privilege movement is about. You’re family wasn’t here prior to the Civil War? Too bad, you are White and benefit from the privilege that slavery bestowed on your race. Pay up!!
Pure racist crap in it’s truest form. Getting people who were never slave owners (nor their ancestors) to pay people who were never slaves based strictly on the color of skin.
America has had it’s fill of this leftist crap, I think even the low info crowd has caught on. All they have to do is go to the mall to see all the immigrants or watch news to see all the leftist inspired racial violence. It does not take a whole lot of brain power to figure out it was not this bad 6 years ago.
Hillary is so openly crooked I think the low info folks are aware of that too.
Couple all this with Boner and McCommie openly and with great defiance screwing their own base, and we have
TRUMP!!!
It’s wrong on so many levels, and deserves no consideration.
Now, how do we fix the current problem of Black Americans who in general through the costs of their staggering amounts of crime per capita, welfare, and general dysfunction are a net annual trillion dollar drag on the country?
We’ve already paid it then. LBJ’s “War on Poverty” has cost taxpayers $18 Trillion, and now we have more poverty than before we threw the money down this rat hole.
The currency of the modern “liberal” is guilt; and you are never to be free of debt. This is part of the appeal of Trump to conservatives and why the Left fears him. The Left try their usual shenanigans to apply guilt to Trump; and he drops the hammer on them. He refuses to honor their currency of guilt; and without that, the Left has no hold on him.
Yes.
Seriously - tell me you couldn’t see erstwhile prez Clinton or Bush actually doing this in cahoots with Boehner and McConnell? You know you could
How about reparations for the crime and other costs to the public? Deduct that and it comes out to zero.
Or repayment with interest for 50+ years of unearned entitlements,
My family already gave.
In the year after the Civil War, part of our family farm was seized by Yankee soldiers. our farm animals confiscated and the property sectioned and given away to former slaves. And the family had never owned slaves.
So that`s how much Civil War II will cost?
If we’re righting all the wrongs of history, American Indians have a much better claim to be first in line here, and for a LOT more than $14 trillion.
Before we do that, though, I’d like a serious explanation of why someone whose ancestors didn’t arrive in this hemisphere until 1905 has any responsibility for any of that.
They are long dead. Generations have passed.
Time to move on.
One thing I do find funny about the 40 acres and a mule is that there was a bit of an evil twist to it: Mules are, by definition, sterile. Two guys couldn’t even get together and breed them. Once your mule died you were done if you didn’t have the means to buy another one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.