Reparations for black residents could cost California more than $800 billion
Cami Mondeaux
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Paying reparations to black residents could cost California over $800 billion, putting the state more than 2.5 times over its annual budget amount, according to economic analysts.
In an effort to compensate black residents for generations of housing discrimination, overpolicing, and other racially motivated policies, California officials would need to allocate more than $800 billion to those payments. That top-line number doesn’t include additional payments of $1 million to each older black resident who struggles with health disparities, nor does it account for those who have had their properties or businesses devalued by the state government.
NEWSOM SILENT ON CALIFORNIA REPARATIONS PROPOSALS
The projections come as the state reparations task force is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the final budget before adopting a final version to send to the state legislature. The current proposal was calculated by a consulting team of five economists and policy experts that was created by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in 2020.
However, it’s possible those payments will never be approved by state lawmakers because of the high costs — prompting task force members to consider alternative solutions to sell the proposal.
“We’ve got to go in with an open mind and come up with some creative ways to deal with this,” Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer told the Associated Press.
Task force members must come to an agreement on a final cost amount by the July 1 deadline, after which state legislators will take the proposal into consideration.
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The reparations proposal comes after Newsom signed legislation in 2020 to create a task force assigned with calculating the economic damages of racially biased policies in the state. That move was met with mixed reactions, as some supported reparation payments while others pushed back on such steep costs.
If the proposal advances from the task force, the budget will head to the state Assembly and Senate for consideration. If passed, the legislation would be given to Newsom for final approval.