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I would not be in favor of the reparations bill; I recognize the years of injustice, but not sure that is the answer.
Having said that, I would never vote for Trump under any circumstances. Third Party maybe; but if there was no chance of a third party candidate winning, I would vote Democrat. $14 trillion would be worth it to get him out of the White House.
I'm 1/8 black. My Dad was 1/4. He thought the whole idea of reparations was ridiculous. I, too, feel the same way.
Even if there were to be reparations---think of the complications. As a 1/8 black, would I qualify? After all, some of my ancestors were brought to the New World on slave ships. Does someone, like my grandkids, who are 1/32 black, qualify for reparations? Do children of recent African immigrants get any money? If the answer is "no", can you imagine how much time and money it would cost to sort out everything? What a nightmare!
OP---as for blacks not succeeding---you should meet my first cousins. Their Dad was black and all of them (Dad included) are all well educated with advanced college degrees. One of them is very prominent in his field of studies. Their children have all done very well in life. I've never heard one of them say they want reparations. To further things, they count among their family friends very successful black people.
Those in the older generations achieved their successes before Affirmative Action even existed. They did this despite coming up against bigotry and racism. My Dad, as I mentioned was 1/4 black and was Puerto Rican. He talked about looking for a part-time job when he was in high school. He was looking for unskilled work at that time and many places he went to find work, he was told "We don't hire Puerto Ricans". Yet he persevered and did find work. Eventually, he saw action while serving in WWII and went to college on the GI Bill. He ended up having a good white collar job.
Was it easy for them to succeed? No, it wasn't. However, instead of walking around with a chip on their shoulders, they pushed on and worked hard to get where they are.
Why would any of us want reparations? And do you really think that those who are unskilled or getting government assistance in any way, shape or form are going to have their lives drastically changed should they get reparations? Sure, there will be some who were already working on changing their lives for the better and would use the money wisely. With that in mind, do you really think that reparations will change the culture among poor blacks that involves not having fathers in the families? Problems like that aren't solved by just throwing money at them.
I'm 1/8 black. My Dad was 1/4. He thought the whole idea of reparations was ridiculous. I, too, feel the same way.
Even if there were to be reparations---think of the complications. As a 1/8 black, would I qualify? After all, some of my ancestors were brought to the New World on slave ships. Does someone, like my grandkids, who are 1/32 black, qualify for reparations? Do children of recent African immigrants get any money? If the answer is "no", can you imagine how much time and money it would cost to sort out everything? What a nightmare!
OP---as for blacks not succeeding---you should meet my first cousins. Their Dad was black and all of them (Dad included) are all well educated with advanced college degrees. One of them is very prominent in his field of studies. Their children have all done very well in life. I've never heard one of them say they want reparations. To further things, they count among their family friends very successful black people.
Those in the older generations achieved their successes before Affirmative Action even existed. They did this despite coming up against bigotry and racism. My Dad, as I mentioned was 1/4 black and was Puerto Rican. He talked about looking for a part-time job when he was in high school. He was looking for unskilled work at that time and many places he went to find work, he was told "We don't hire Puerto Ricans". Yet he persevered and did find work. Eventually, he saw action while serving in WWII and went to college on the GI Bill. He ended up having a good white collar job.
Was it easy for them to succeed? No, it wasn't. However, instead of walking around with a chip on their shoulders, they pushed on and worked hard to get where they are.
Why would any of us want reparations? And do you really think that those who are unskilled or getting government assistance in any way, shape or form are going to have their lives drastically changed should they get reparations? Sure, there will be some who were already working on changing their lives for the better and would use the money wisely. With that in mind, do you really think that reparations will change the culture among poor blacks that involves not having fathers in the families? Problems like that aren't solved by just throwing money at them.
No, you wouldn't qualify for reparations. Neither would your dad. When it comes to black American status in this country, the data doesn't lie. The median wealth for black Americans is 1.7k-4k. Many economists predict that median wealth will drop to zero in the next 20-30 years. So as a group, black Americans have bore the cost of slavery and Jim Crow.
It's interesting you mentioned your dad using the GI Bill to fund his education. Black Americans as a group were largely shut out of taking advantage of the GI Bill and New Deal policies. The things that built the white middle class and up. These are things we aren't going to get back. There is no new GI Bill coming down the pike from our government. Trump isn't going to issue any more New Deal policies. All of that is gone. In the days when true Affirmative Action was white.
So we you can't use your individual life to say anything for black America as a whole.
Almost every election for black Americans, we have to choose between the candidate who will do the least amount of harm to our community. In spite Democratic candidates needing black Americans vote in a block to win elections, and most certainly to win primaries, we are the most ignored group in America. The data points this out magnificently! Now, we thought things would change when Obama came on the scene. He was a massive failure to say the least. Not only was he a failure, he then endorsed Ms. Super Predator herself to be the next president. Which once again it became voting between the lesser of two evils in Hillary vs. Trump.
So I've been thinking about something. I've been thinking when have white Americans (who are the majority in this nation) had to choose between the lesser of two evils? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a lot of white Americans saw Hillary as evil, and had to hold their nose when voting for her. I'm sure a lot of white Republicans thought the same way about Trump. However, I just don't think they fully felt the same way as black Americans felt, particularly after Obama. It was then I had an "AH HA!" scenario....
Let's say we now have a Democrat nominee for the 2020 election. This candidate who will be going up against Trump, has a policy for reparations given to the American descendants of slaves. It will be a 14 trillion dollar investment over the span of many years. My question to everyone is if this were the scenario, for those who can't stand Trump and think anyone would be better, would you vote for this Democrat nominee? Or would you go third party or not vote at all?
Late term abortions.
Weak immigration control/defacto open borders.
Raising taxes.
Carbon taxes.
Socialized Medicine
Endless partisan "investigations".
And now reparations to people who were never slaves from people who were never slaves owners.
Boy, you guys really want to guarantee Trump's reelection huh?
No, you wouldn't qualify for reparations. Neither would your dad. When it comes to black American status in this country, the data doesn't lie. The median wealth for black Americans is 1.7k-4k. Many economists predict that median wealth will drop to zero in the next 20-30 years. So as a group, black Americans have bore the cost of slavery and Jim Crow.
It's interesting you mentioned your dad using the GI Bill to fund his education. Black Americans as a group were largely shut out of taking advantage of the GI Bill and New Deal policies. The things that built the white middle class and up. These are things we aren't going to get back. There is no new GI Bill coming down the pike from our government. Trump isn't going to issue any more New Deal policies. All of that is gone. In the days when true Affirmative Action was white.
So we you can't use your individual life to say anything for black America as a whole.
Well...If I won't qualify for reparations, then where do you draw the line considering that nearly every single black person in this country who is descended from slaves has some white blood in them? And who died and named you the expert as to where to draw the line?
Well...If I won't qualify for reparations, then where do you draw the line considering that nearly every single black person in this country who is descended from slaves has some white blood in them? And who died and named you the expert as to where to draw the line?
The line is drawn for those who have one parent that is fully black American/American DOS (descendant of slaves) So if you're 50% black American DOS, you qualify. I imagine around 36+ million people would qualify.
Almost every election for black Americans, we have to choose between the candidate who will do the least amount of harm to our community. In spite Democratic candidates needing black Americans vote in a block to win elections, and most certainly to win primaries, we are the most ignored group in America. The data points this out magnificently! Now, we thought things would change when Obama came on the scene. He was a massive failure to say the least. Not only was he a failure, he then endorsed Ms. Super Predator herself to be the next president. Which once again it became voting between the lesser of two evils in Hillary vs. Trump.
So I've been thinking about something. I've been thinking when have white Americans (who are the majority in this nation) had to choose between the lesser of two evils? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a lot of white Americans saw Hillary as evil, and had to hold their nose when voting for her. I'm sure a lot of white Republicans thought the same way about Trump. However, I just don't think they fully felt the same way as black Americans felt, particularly after Obama. It was then I had an "AH HA!" scenario....
Let's say we now have a Democrat nominee for the 2020 election. This candidate who will be going up against Trump, has a policy for reparations given to the American descendants of slaves. It will be a 14 trillion dollar investment over the span of many years. My question to everyone is if this were the scenario, for those who can't stand Trump and think anyone would be better, would you vote for this Democrat nominee? Or would you go third party or not vote at all?
I support the idea of reparations, but 14 trillion is cutting it too far. 14 Trillions is as much as the US makes a year. Maybe a 100 billion will do over a span of 1 generation. Last I should not speak on Black American problems and issues. Why? I'm not a black or African American, and I did not face the hurdles and tribulations of slavery, Jim Crow, housing discrimination, and other ill forms of white supremacy. However I'm very sympatric and empathic to black Americans struggle and to do what is right and the historic wrong of slavery.
Problem is this. Barak Obama did not have a black American agenda, even though he was married to a Black American woman. Also you must note that even though Obama is the first black president, he is not a black American and not a descendent of African American slaves. Obama comes from a privilege class, and his African father want to Harvard at a time in which black Americans could not attend or barely. Even with Kamala Harris, a small but vocal minority of conscious woke pro blacks, and black conservatives will not vote for her because she is a racist democrat person of color who put black men in prison.
The only president that had a black agenda as of recently was Donald Trump, he told you black folks, "what do we have to lose". This is what he told you black folks. And when he got elected, you had all these buck dancing, tap dancing men like Steve Harvey and Don King pandering to Trump with yes Massa.
If I was running for president. I would create a federal department known as the department of affairs for colored people. The same way how the department of the interior has an affairs bureau for Native Americans. Through such bureau, an agenda can or will be pushed for Black Americans. Plenty of black people felt cheated with Barak Obama and this can be seen in the echo chambers of the black conservatives who tap dance for Trump, and it also can be seen with fist in the air black power folks that live east of the Colarado River all the way to the Atlantic ocean. If you want to be pro black out west, you better buy a plane ticket to Brooklyn, Atlanta, Chicago. Forget Harlem and DC its half white now.
As for reparations. Who do we decide who gets operations? I'm Guyanese American, my family is from another country and another continent, we had nothing to do with African American slavery. this goes for Afro Latinos, Afro Caribbean's, and Africans. These folks do not get reparations because they are not descendants of African American slaves. Also you have millions of white Americans who have African slaves roots. Do those white folks are entitled to reparations?
The line is drawn for those who have one parent that is fully black American/American DOS (descendant of slaves) So if you're 50% black American DOS, you qualify. I imagine around 36+ million people would qualify.
Well...good luck with that one!
IOW, every single black person who wants in on reparations will have to not only take a DNA test but so will their parents.
So...someone who looks black but discovers after a DNA test is only 40% black is out of luck.
Once again, where do you get the qualifiers from? As I asked, who died and named you the person who gets to decide?
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