Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Diplomacy or Submission? The Zionist Grip on US Political Power and Trump’s Uneasy Alliance With Netanyahu

1 day ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

2 days ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

2 days ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

2 days ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

2 days ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

2 days ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

2 days ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

2 days ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

2 days ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

2 days ago
Reparations for Black Californians Could Top $800 Billion
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
March 29, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It could cost California more than $800 billion to compensate Black residents for generations of over-policing, disproportionate incarceration and housing discrimination, economists have told a state panel considering reparations.

The preliminary estimate is more than 2.5 times California’s $300 billion annual budget, and does not include a recommended $1 million per older Black resident for health disparities that have shortened their average life span. Nor does the figure count compensating people for property unjustly taken by the government or devaluing Black businesses, two other harms the task force says the state perpetuated.

Black residents may not receive cash payments anytime soon, if ever, because the state may never adopt the economists’ calculations. The reparations task force is scheduled to discuss the numbers Wednesday and can vote to adopt the suggestions or come up with its own figures. The proposed number comes from a consulting team of five economists and policy experts.

“We’ve got to go in with an open mind and come up with some creative ways to deal with this,” said Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer, one of two lawmakers on the task force responsible for mustering support from state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom before any reparations could become reality.

In an interview prior to the meeting, Jones-Sawyer said he needed to consult budget analysts, other legislators and the governor’s office before deciding whether the scale of payments is feasible.

The estimates for policing and disproportionate incarceration and housing discrimination are not new. The figures came up in a September presentation as the consulting team sought guidance on whether to use a national or California-specific model to calculate damages.

But the task force must now settle on a cash amount as it nears a July 1 deadline to recommend to lawmakers how California can atone for its role in perpetuating racist systems that continue to undermine Black people.

For those who support reparations, the staggering $800 billion amount economists suggest underscores the long-lasting harm Black Americans have endured, even in a state that never officially endorsed slavery. Critics pin their opposition partly on the fact that California was never a slave state and say current taxpayers should not be responsible for damage linked to events that germinated hundreds of years ago.

Recommendations Just the Start

Task force recommendations are just the start because ultimate authority rests with the state Assembly, Senate and the governor.

“That’s going to be the real hurdle,” said Sen. Steven Bradford, who sits on the panel. “How do you compensate for hundreds of years of harm, even 150 years post-slavery?”

Financial redress is just one part of the package being considered. Other proposals include paying incarcerated inmates market value for their labor, establishing free wellness centers and planting more trees in Black communities, banning cash bail and adopting a K-12 Black studies curriculum.

Gov. Newsom signed legislation in 2020 creating the reparations task force after national protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police. While federal initiatives have stalled, cities, counties and other institutions have stepped in.

An advisory committee in San Francisco has recommended $5 million payouts, as well as guaranteed income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness for qualifying individuals. Supervisors expressed general support, but stopped short of endorsing specific proposals. They will take up the issue later this year.

The statewide estimate includes $246 billion to compensate eligible Black Californians whose neighborhoods were subjected to aggressive policing and prosecution of Black people in the “war on drugs” from 1970 to 2020. That would translate to nearly $125,000 for every person who qualifies.

The numbers are approximate, based on modeling and population estimates. The economists also included $569 billion to make up for the discriminatory practice of redlining in housing loans. Such compensation would amount to about $223,000 per eligible resident who lived in California from 1933 to 1977. The aggregate is considered a maximum and assumes all 2.5 million people who identify as Black in California would be eligible.

Redlining officially began in the 1930s when the federal government started backing mortgages to support homebuying, but excluded majority Black neighborhoods by marking them red on internal maps. The racial gap in homeownership persists today, and Black-owned homes are frequently undervalued. Redlining officially ended in 1977, but the practice persisted.

Monetary redress will be available to people who meet residency and other requirements. They must also be descendants of enslaved and freed Black people in the U.S. as of the 19th century, which leaves out Black immigrants.

In their report, the consultants suggest the state task force “err on the side of generosity” and consider a down-payment with more money to come as more evidence becomes available.

“It should be communicated to the public that the substantial initial down-payment is the beginning of a conversation about historical injustices, not the end of it,” they said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

DON'T MISS

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

DON'T MISS

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

DON'T MISS

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

DON'T MISS

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

DON'T MISS

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

UP NEXT

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

UP NEXT

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

UP NEXT

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

UP NEXT

Trump’s Copper Tariffs Pile More Metal Misery on US Auto Industry

UP NEXT

Paving, Power, and Politics: Measure C Committee Faces Shakeup

UP NEXT

Zohran Mamdani Jolted Progressives. Can California Candidates Replicate His Success?

UP NEXT

Senate Panel Approves $500 Million Aid for Ukraine in Defense Bill

UP NEXT

Diplomacy or Submission? The Zionist Grip on US Political Power and Trump’s Uneasy Alliance With Netanyahu

UP NEXT

White House Reviews Mass Federal Layoff Plans, Aims for Swift Action

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids on California Cannabis Nurseries Spark Protests

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

17 hours ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

17 hours ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

18 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

18 hours ago

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

19 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

19 hours ago

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

19 hours ago

Musk’s xAI Seeks up to $200 Billion Valuation in Next Fundraising, FT Reports

19 hours ago

Divided US Appeals Court Rejects Plea Deal for Accused September 11 Attacks Mastermind

20 hours ago

Skydance in Early Talks to Acquire The Free Press, NYT Reports

21 hours ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

After losing both of his owners within months, a 5-year-old cattle dog named Oswald — better known as Ozzy — faced an uncertain future. But ...

28 minutes ago

After losing both of his owners, a 5-year-old cattle dog named Ozzy found a second chance at happiness thanks to a local rescue group and a loving foster home. (Mell's Mutts)
28 minutes ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

17 hours ago

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

People gather near a damaged building and trees as firefighters work at the site where an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

Fresno police will hold a traffic enforcement operation Saturday, July 12, 2025, focused on speeding and other violations, which could lead to DUI arrests. (Fresno PD)
17 hours ago

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

Blake Benham was sentenced to 23 years and 8 months in prison for a 2023 DUI crash in Dinuba that killed two women and seriously injured two others. (Tulare County SO)
17 hours ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

Solar panels at the background as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, Wisconsin, U.S., September 5, 2024. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office is searching for Tyler Joseph Norris, 28, wanted for felony burglary and grand theft, who may be traveling with Teresa Marie Torres, 40, also wanted on a misdemeanor warrant. (Madera County SO)
18 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
19 hours ago

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend