As previously reported by REVOLT, since 2020, California has been working toward making reparations for slavery available for Black residents. That year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill putting the California Reparations Task Force in motion. Now, experts have revealed just how much that may cost.
Today (March 29), economists met to discuss the bill, and revealed the amount could come in at over $800 billion, which would be almost triple what California already had set aside for reparations. Fox News said the committee consisting of five economists and policy experts noted that amount does not even begin to cover compensation for property unjustly taken from Black residents, or financial losses created by the devaluation of Black-owned businesses.
NEW – Reparations for Black Californians could top $800 billion, 2.5 times the state's annual budget — NBC
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 29, 2023
California assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer spoke about solutions to the long-standing issue. “We’ve got to go in with an open mind and come up with some creative ways to deal with this,” the lawmaker urged. “That’s going to be the real hurdle. How do you compensate for hundreds of years of harm, even 150 years post-slavery?” Sen. Steven Bradford added. Fox News claims the clock is ticking for panel members, who have until July 1 to agree on how much money Black residents should be given for reparations. The city of San Francisco recently made headlines for suggesting $5 million would be sufficient for each Black local.
Some requirements for San Francisco’s reparations include being at least 18 years old and identifying as Black or African American on public documents for at least 10 years. It is also being proposed that those with debt be granted a clean slate by having it eliminated. The task force will reconvene again tomorrow (March 30) to continue discussing how to move forward with fairly paying Black California residents for over a century of systemic racial injustice.