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100 Facts On Reparations For Native Black Americans

100 Facts On Reparations For Native Black Americans


43. What opponents say

Many argue that reparations won’t work, or that slave reparations aren’t necessary. One of the main arguments against reparations is that white people today shouldn’t pay for what their ancestors did. “There are no Black slaves living today. Slavery ended more than 160 years ago at the cost of several hundred thousand lives lost in the Civil War. It is unfair to ask American taxpayers, many of them from families that came to the United States after slavery ended, to pay for the wrongs of slavery,” Constitutional Rights Foundation reported.

Another argument against reparations is that there have already been government programs to help Black Americans. “Federal and state governments have already spent billions of dollars on social programs such as welfare, subsidized housing, health care, employment development, affirmative action, and education. These programs have benefited African Americans,” Constitutional Rights Foundation says. 

A third argument involves the costs of reparations. They’d be too expensive, depriving the country of the opportunity to fix the Social Security and Medicare systems or to meet other budget needs that benefit all Americans.

Finally, some argue that reparations are a distraction — that the problems plaguing the Black community have nothing to do with racism and the legacy of slavery, but a lack of fortitudinous by African Americans. “The problems faced by African Americans today are not the ‘legacy of slavery’ or even racism. Many blacks have succeeded very well in American society. The problems of poor African Americans are caused by social ills within the inner city, such as the breakdown of families, high crime rates, and dependence on welfare,” according to Constitutional Rights Foundation.