Days after a reparations task force handed down its recommendations that would cost California $800 billion, or more than twice its annual budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom has come out against cash payments.
In a statement to Fox News, the progressive emphasized that addressing the history of slavery and discrimination was about “more than cash payments.”
“The Reparations Task Force’s independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing. This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country,” Newsom said.
“Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments. Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond,” Newsom continued. “This work must continue.”
“Following the Task Force’s submission of its final report this summer, I look forward to a continued partnership with the Legislature to advance systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians,” he added.
The amount the reparations would cost the state were not outlined in the report, but previous calculations from economists predicted it could cost around $800billion - more than twice California's approximate $300 billion annual budget.
The report suggests that the amounts, based on what has been lost to specific types of racial discrimination, should be paid back to black residents.
This includes $2,352 lost per person per year for the over-policing and mass incarceration of black communities and $3,366 per person per year of residence between 1933 and 1977 for 'discriminatory lending and zoning'.
It also includes $13,619 per person per year for residents in California for 'injustices and discrimination in health' and $77,000 per person for black-owned business losses and devaluations.
This means a lifelong black California resident aged at least 71 could receive more than $1.2million in compensation. (Daily Mail)
California was the first state to form the reparations task force in the wake of George Floyd's death, with Newsom appointing five out of its nine members. But Republicans argue the committee's work "has been a fool's errand from the start."
"Democrats have promised the world with this reparations task force, and now the massive taxpayer bill is coming due," James Gallagher, California Assembly Republican Leader, told Fox News Digital. "Newsom has painted himself into a corner, and he’ll have to choose between signing off on a ridiculous policy that will bankrupt the state or admitting once and for all that this task force was nothing more than a political stunt."
The task force's final report will be submitted to the Legislature by July 1.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member