Posted on 11/05/2020 11:03:14 AM PST by Kaslin
Reparations?
As global wealth grows, the wealth of productive societies expands at lightning speed. Thereby, the material luxury of modernized countries grows at a rate that would have been deemed to be science fiction a few decades ago.
At the same time, the left-behind communities become aware of an exasperating condition. The cadence of their improvement is slow, so the gap widens that separates their attainment from that of the leading creators of progress. This is the case except for when equality through poverty is a chosen policy; the North Koreas stagnate as a matter of principle.
The problem is that some experience only a slow rise of living standards, while other societies rise like rockets. Summing up, whilst for most of the world expectations and performance rise, there are laggards whose frustration grows. The demand that the losers be compensated expresses that sentiment.
As a rule, poverty is not caused by nature. However, its gifts to the lucky few can bankroll easy abundance.
The observant discovers the roots of the discrepancy in wealth in man-made policies that are reflections of culture. Cultures can change, and the national character is not unalterable either. Even if bad policies can be replaced by good measures, the preferred instinctive response to the problem of backwardness tends to favor other remedies. It might be “human nature” or just a learned bad habit, to attribute shortcomings to the machinations of the agents of evil. Jews, capitalist, foreigners, heresy, and inventively imagined conspiracies are ingredients of well-selling snake medicine. These are popular, easily blamed enemies. It is simple to persuade the politically naïve that evil plotters cause the misery of decent folks that they fleece.
In most cases, secular religions arise to organize those convinced of having been robbed and artificially disadvantaged.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Reparations won’t work because they are a one-time gift. Most recipients aren’t going to somehow use those reparations to benefit their future generations of offspring. The reparations, especially cash reparations, will be spent and gone. So then, the next generation of people with slave ancestors will say, “We need reparations for past injustice.” It will never end.
I consider welfare to be reparations. How’s that workin’ for ‘em.
Give them EVERYTHING and they will screw it up.
#1 problem with reparations is there is no endpoint. The issue is addressed, and paid off, periodically - with no end in sight.
Yes, a category of people were very badly treated (in a way common, worldwide, for most of history).
- That bad treatment has ended.
- Ending it cost 600,000 lives (~half to end it) plus enormous $$$.
- ~100% of citizens oppose that treatment in any shape/form.
- Nobody alive has legally been a slave
- Nobody alive has legally held a slave
- Generations have passed since either.
That not being considered enough:
- “40 acres and a mule”
- ~$30T welfare aid
- Liberia
- affirmative action
- MLK’s “dream” practically achieved
- other “reparations”
Computing modern reparations as cash payout (current intention) requires invasive & unreliable genealogy of who owes who what - lest descendants of Union soldiers & abolitionists be compelled to pay those whose ancestors owned slaves (glaring at Kamala Harris). Such would morally demand “then what about [Chinese, Irish, etc]”. Compelling the modern to pay for the sins of the century+ past is utterly untenable, be the concern accuracy, cost, applicability, or termination. Issue must be considered nothing more than “gibzmedat” and flatly refused.
Dave Chappelle did a skit on slave reparations and what would happen.... Hilarious...
They are not supposed to work. They are a sop to their base.
Without getting into it, there is pretty strong Supreme Court precedent that reparations based on race or ancestry are unconstitutional. I don’t know whether any of the attempts at the lower levels (cities or states) have been challenged.
The reparations to Japanese-Americans in the camps is different because the payments were to the ones who actually were interned.
they’re not gonna work because I ain’t paying.
*****
False.
Absolutely.Additionally, the progress of society is such that an American secretary today would have to think long and hard about accepting a life with Queen Victoria’s (1819-1901) standard of living.
Victoria was obviously fabulously wealthy, more so than any antebellum slave owner. But if you consider what that secretary would have to give up - health care (for self and family) which is today worth the name, everything made of plastic, everything running on gasoline or operating on electricity, air travel world wide, electronic communications and entertainment . . .
So the other point is that nobody demanding “reparations” wants forty acres and a mule. They don’t want opportunity, they want a windfall. Which would make them feel rich momentarily, but which, as you say, would have zero lasting effect.
Reparations is simply a code word for theft by government.
JoMa
Let me simplify it for everyone: Because black peepoe are NEVER truly happy, NEVER completely satisfied, and NEVER gonna quit.
bookmark
They shouldn't have been given "reparations." Other people were put into internment but received nothing.
None of them are alive to accept payment.
Reparations won’t work because
1. Nearly all African Americans have some European American blood
2. 70% of non immigrant European Americans have African American blood.
Who pays what to whom ?
Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.
true dis!
Most here would agree that slavery constitutes treating someone badly, however lightly their chains rest upon them.
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.