Warren and Harris try to out left each other, back reparations

I will choose not to work if this country goes full socialist. Let the other sucker work to pay for my freebies.

 

you must not be doing very well for yourself if not working and going full "socialist"will support your lifestyle.

 

Dave Schuler on reparations:

In her latest column at the Washington Post Megan McArdle puts in her two cents about “reparations”:

Let’s talk about the injustice point for a second. How do you justify forcing the concert violinist Sarah Chang to pay reparations to Kamala Harris? Ms. Chang’s parent are immigrants and any notion that she has received advantages as a consequence of slavery is absurd. It’s equally absurd that Kamala Harris, most likely less than one half of sub-Saharan African descent and whose parents were immigrants from Jamaica and Pakistan was penalized by U. S. slavery.

On the other hand over the last 30 years we’ve had four presidents whose families were involved with slavery in various different fashions. The Bushes were indirectly involved with the slave trade, Bill Clinton’s ancestors fought for the Confederacy, i.e. to preserve slavery, and Barack Obama had ancestors who held slaves. Contrast that with my own situation. None of my ancestors owned slaves or were involved with slavery in any fashion. My ancestors were abolitionists and fought in the Civil War to abolish slavery. Two of my great-great-grandfathers died of the privations they experienced during the war, blighting their families for generations after. I think I’ve paid in full.

Where would reparations stop? Believing that only blacks have been the victims of historic wrongs is a misreading of history. American Indians. Consider the Irish and the Jews. Consider Catholics.

And then there’s the pesky problem that reparations are arguably illegal, cf. Article I, Section 9, paragraph 3 and Amendment 5.

Longfellow’s poem says it well:

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,–act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
​

Let’s address today’s problems today and provide a hand up to those who need it rather than calling for payments to people who don’t need help by virtue of their presumed membership in a group, some of whom can, indeed, use help in the imagined resolution of ancient wrongs. One crime does not cancel out another.
​

http://theglitteringeye.com/piling-one-crime-on-another/

 

The past push for reparations was something I supported. The government promised those freed from slavery 40 acres and a mule. So it would be fulfilling the promise of the United States. Folks would have to prove they were direct descendants to qualify for reparations .Each person would get a monitary equivalent of less than 40 acres but it would still be something.

 

Of course. Even though you're only 60% minority, you can still have full access to the meditated middle-class tax cut -- unless of course, you're an upper income earner. Ironically, even though I'm not a minority at all, I can still get that tax cut too!

While you're searching for dumb takes on this 'reparations' question, can you find me one that explains how they quantify the cost of these reparations? Are they counting the proposed middle class tax cut as reparations?

 

I disagree with your assessment that these are "dumb takes." Take a look at the philosophical and legal literature on reparations and then you can make that claim

 

That almost sounds like an endorsement of an article you've posted!

Anyway, links appreciated if there is any specific philosophical or legal literature you're aware of that can dispel my ignorance. But, if you've got something good that tells me that "We must confront the dark history of slavery and government-sanctioned discrimination in this country that has had many consequences including undermining the ability of Black families to build wealth in America for generations. Black families have had a much steeper hill to climb — and we need systemic, structural changes to address that” is an endorsement of reparations, then I am pro-reparations.

 

Neither of these candidates could beat Trump and most liberals know it.

 

I suppose the basic entry at SEP would be a start: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/black-reparations/

 

Sounds like nobody’s really advocating for direct reparations in the sense of the original thought that word brings for most people. Which is direct compensation on a per person basis.

Harris/Warren seem to just be lazily accepting that word for kudos from the black vote.

They tried to shame Bernie for not directly using the word reparations at his townhall, when he was in reality saying the same exact things Harris and Warren are, just leaving out the word reperation because he knows it’s really not a great word to use for the action plans being lofted.

 

I am pretty conservative in most subjects even though I don’t really care what anyone does with their own lives as long as they don’t shove it down your throat but I would happily give my tax money for reparations for free college for African Americans who can make the grades in high school

If you can hold straight A’s in high school and average a 3.0 in college, I’d agree with free college easily. I think long term that would have the most impact in poorer black communities instead of just giving free ****. I think it would teach responsibility and accountability to the youth and have much greater impact in the long run.....