The way Democrats use reparations is much like dangling a carrot in front of black Americans to get what they want politically while never disclosing the carrot is hollow and made out of plastic.
That reparations carrot is supposed to symbolize how they agree with providing financial restitution for the wrongs committed in the past — but that vegetable is as authentic as their intentions to put their words into action.
No place is this proving truer than the Democratic stronghold that is California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday he won’t support cash payments of up to $1.2 million each for eligible black residents that his own reparations task force recommends.
“This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country,” the Democratic governor told Fox News Digital.
“Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments.”
The nine-member committee, which Newsom created, voted for several recommendations Saturday, including minimum payments of $360,000 that would rise depending on factors like incarceration history.
Some economists estimate the project could cost the state upward of $800 billion — more than 2.5 times its annual budget.
He sounds dismissive of some of the other recommendations too, saying “many” are “critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility.”
Reparations, Newsom says, also include getting rid of any systemic issues that may be creating unfair disparities and improving the lives of black Americans “in housing, education, health care, and well beyond.”
He states this as if it isn’t already his job to do this.
As governor, his assignment is to improve the lives of all his residents the best he can, and by default, his plans to benefit black Americans are already part of the job description.
Newsom highlighting his efforts to invest billions in a fairer society is like a parent bragging about how they take care of their children: You don’t get credit for doing something you’re supposed to be doing in the first place.
The difference is that Newsom is dressing up these actions as part of reparations to claim he’s doing his part for restorative justice while sidestepping cash payouts.
Corporate Democrats like Newsom still serve donor masters, and I doubt any of them want him to contribute to bankrupting a state just to appease a few loud activists.
Instead, what they’ll do is what they always do: Give the activists just enough to think they care and are doing something about it.
Democrats want black people to believe the thought matters more than the action.
I’ve seen how reparations are used as the feel-good hypothetical to attempt to either gain or retain black voters for years.
They’ll swiftly hand out corporate bailouts and funnel money to foreign nations for niche endeavors, but the most they’ll give towards reparations is a shout-out of moral support when they appear on a black-oriented radio station during an election season.
While it’s possible Newsom could change his mind about delivering cash payouts, I remain doubtful it will ever happen.
That’s not to say whether I agree with reparations because it doesn’t matter in this case: I don’t live in California, and if politicians in California want to destroy their budget, then by all means have at it.
If Golden State Democrats want to pretend California was a slave state and they’re obligated to pay restitution despite it being contentious among residents of all shades, risking resentment, I’ll respect the state’s right to do as it pleases.
But if there are black people in California eagerly waiting for something to come from this and it doesn’t, they can’t blame anything but the California Democratic Party and Gov. Newsom.
There is nothing stopping Democrats from moving forward but themselves.
When nothing manifests from this entire process, they’ll finally be close enough to the carrot to realize it was fake the entire time.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of “Black Victim to Black Victor” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Follow him on Substack: adambcoleman.substack.com.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
