A California task force is weighing reparations for its black
residents, potentially paving the way for other states and
cities to follow. The task force met in early
March to discuss the potential payouts which could take the
form of direct payments and investments in education, health
care and home ownership. Under one of the models
being considered, the state would owe about$640 billion
to black Californians with an ancestor enslaved in the US
that works up to roughly$360,000 a person that method
uses the racial wealth gap which has left white families
with six times the wealth of black ones as an
indicator to calculate the losses that descendants of enslaved people
suffered. But it's unclear where the money to pay
for that is going to come from. California is
facing a$22.5 billion budget deficit. The tech sector
is laying off workers stock market declines are hurting top
earners who pay a large share of taxes and the
state already has some of the highest taxes in the
country. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber says that
if the state can admitted sins then there is a
way forward for state and cities across the nation.
In 2021 Evanston Illinois became the first U S city
to provide reparations to black residents. Reparation studies have
also sprung up in places like New York and ST
Louis. The California group will make its final recommendations
to the state legislature by July.