June 24, 2019
The policies set forth by today’s Democrat lawmakers, and proposed by the Democrat presidential candidates would have been considered radical, and not taken seriously just a few years ago. However, the Democrat party has moved so far to the left, that the “radical” is now accepted as mainstream within the party.
The latest lunacy is the proposal to compensate African Americans for slavery, also known as reparations. Almost all of the Democrat candidates for president have stated that they support reparations. Never mind that slavery ended in 1863, and that no one alive today ever owned a slave, or was a slave. Somehow Democrats have come to the conclusion that having a great, great, great ancestor who may have been a slave, is the reason that black Americans have less wealth than white Americans. Apparently, no proposal that involves redistributing wealth and income is beneath today’s Democrat party.
Yes- slavery is a stain on American history. However, it is not unique to our country. It is not “America’s original sin”, as characterized by many on the left. It has occurred for thousands of years around the world by people of every race. In fact, during the Atlantic slave trade only about 300,000 of the captive Africans, or 5%, came to the U.S. The overwhelming majority went to Brazil and the Caribbean. Further, Americans were among the first to question the morality of enslaving other human beings.
Who Should pay Reparations?
It’s a little know fact that at the height of slavery in 1860, 3,000 blacks owned a total of 20,000 slaves. Further in 1860 a total of 393,975 people owned slaves. At this time the United States had a population of 27,489,561 . Therefore, only 1.4% of the population at the peak of slavery were slave owners. Even in the south where slavery was accepted, only 25% of all southerners owned slaves. Should the descendants of black slaveholders pay reparations? Should all white Americans have to pay, when only a small percentage of their descendants were slaveholders?
Further, over 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War, which ended slavery. Why should descendants of Union soldiers, who died fighting to end slavery pay reparations?
There are also many mixed raced Americans. Should someone who is 1/2 black or 1/4 black receive reparations? Or wealthy, successful blacks, do they also receive compensation?
Further complicating the issue is the fact that many black Americans are not even descended from African slaves. Should blacks of Caribbean descent, or those who immigrated to the U.S. after the abolishment of slavery also receive compensation?
Much has already been done
Those who advocate for reparations make the claim that the wealth gap between black Americans and white Americans is a result of the legacy of slavery. To rectify this disparity they propose policy changes, such as a focus on education, and healthcare, as well as a monetary payout to black Americans, which some have calculated would cost in the trillions.
Making the claim that the U.S. owes black Americans for past injustices ignores the fact that the United States has already done a tremendous amount to eliminate discrimination and poverty. Over the last 60 years legislation has been passed, regulations implemented, and tax-payer funded financial assistance has been provided to uplift black Americans.
Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964- ended segregation in public places, and banned employment discrimination on the basis of color, race, religion , sex, or national origin.
Affirmative Action
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy signed affirmative action into law. In the ensuing years minority candidates with lower qualifications have been given priority over more qualified white and asian applicants in higher education, and with some employers. Many government agencies even have quota and hiring goals.
Federal contractors are actually required to show that members of “protected” classes, such as black Americans are represented in their workforce to obtain a contract with the government. As a result of this requirement contractors must engage in outreach, training, and recruitment strategies to search for and hire black candidates and other minorities.
Welfare
There are currently over a hundred anti-poverty programs in our country, costing taxpayers approximately $1 trillion annually. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson declared a “war on poverty”, with the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act. This legislation enacted a myriad of welfare programs with the objective of alleviating poverty. To date $23 trillion has been redistributed from taxpayers to low income black Americans as well as other low income Americans,
Many blame the expansion of the welfare state for the destruction of the black family. In 1960 only 22% of black children had one parent. Today 77% of black children are born to single mothers. Statistics prove that single parent households are significantly more likely to live in poverty. In 2015 44% of children living with a single mother lived in poverty, compared to 10% of black married households, and 22% of all black households.
Addressing a congregation at one of Chicago’s largest black churches in 2008, Barack Obama, who rarely criticized the black community, agreed that single mother-led households put the black family at a disadvantage.
“Children who grow up without a father are 5 times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; 9 times more likely to drop out of schools, and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves, and the foundation of our community are weaker because of it.”
Black poverty was significantly declining prior to the expansion of the welfare state. After its implementation from the 1970’s- to the mid 1990’s the black poverty rate flatlined. It’s therefore dubious how much credit the government deserves in alleviating poverty. However, it does appear that the explosion of the welfare state had the unintended consequence of replacing the role of the father with the government in many black households, leading to a cascade of negative repercussions.
Making a claim that Americans who never owned slaves should pay money to some Americans who were never slaves is nothing short of political pandering for the black vote. It is undeniable that much has already been done through legislation, and redistribution of wealth to improve the lives of black Americans and others who suffered past discrimination. It’s also been proven that no amount of government interference and monetary aid can replace the role of the family.
