California’s Reparations Report: Bigotry of No Expectations

California’s Reparations Task Force released its final report at the end of June. Coming in at over 1,000 pages, the report attempts to analyze the legacy of slavery and other forms of discrimination against black Americans, both within California — which, it should be noted, was admitted to the union as a free state — and nationwide. The report recommends reparations payments that could cost the state trillions, including over $225 billion to atone for the War on Drugs alone, which does not foreclose the possibility of “additional payments as new evidence becomes available.” It also offers a wide variety of other policy recommendations that range from the merely absurd to the highly destructive.

Taken together, the proposals amount to a shameful program rooted in the very sort of discriminatory views the authors purport to confront.

About the Author

Alexander Hughes

Alexander Hughes, a student at Harvard University, is a former National Review summer intern.

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California’s Reparations Task Force released its final report at the end of June. Coming in at over 1,000 pages, the report attempts to analyze the legacy of slavery and other forms of discrimination against black Americans, both within California — which, it should be noted, was admitted to the union as a free state — and nationwide. The report recommends reparations payments that could cost the state trillions, including over $225 billion to atone for the War on Drugs alone, which does not foreclose the possibility of “additional payments as new evidence becomes available.” It also offers a wide variety of other policy recommendations that range from the merely absurd to the highly destructive.

Taken together, the proposals amount to a shameful program rooted in the very sort of discriminatory views the authors purport to confront.