Last week, the Reparations Task Force in California, a state where slavery was never legal, just released its final 1,100-page report, which includes more than 100 policy recommendations.
Some of the recommendations are reasonable. But many more are completely absurd.
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Here are a few of the craziest.
First, while the report does not give a specific dollar amount that should be paid, CNN reported that it used a formula that concludes each eligible resident may be owed up to $1.2 million. The report emphasizes that the final estimates are “conservative.” But, then again, so did those who made proposals for payment of up to $5 million per resident. I’d like to see what an upper-end estimate looks like according to the task force.
Next, the report recommended 1) eliminating testing requirements for all state university graduate programs, 2) removing all low-level crimes, such as “illegal camping, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, minor trespass, and public urination,” from the purview of law enforcement, and 3) speeding up the timeline on the implementation of controversial ethnic studies classes in K-12 schools. I’m sure removing standards for graduate schools and becoming more permissive of public urination will really make the state a better place.
Yet that is still just the beginning. The report recommended that the state abolish the death penalty, make Election Day a national holiday, do a systematic review of school discipline data in order to disrupt the “school-to-prison pipeline,” and eliminate all “back child support debt.”
It also recommended abolishing cash bail, encouraging the federal government to give large-scale reparations, in addition to state-level reparations, mandating “anti-racism training” for housing employees, and implementing rent control along with a massive increase in the minimum wage — likely raising it above $18. It likely never occurred to the authors of this report to consider the actual economic impact of rent control, for example, which research shows makes housing more expensive and less available.
Additionally, it calls to “eliminate disparities” — the word “disparities” was used 450 times in the report — in domains such as STEM, prisons, and education. But how exactly those disparities ought to be “eliminated” is largely left unclear.
In fact, completely vague language, which sometimes goes on for paragraphs at a time with zero substance, is commonplace in the report. For example, in a section about developing “climate resilience hubs,” the report said: “This Task Force recommends the Legislature provide economic support to ameliorate these disparities through the development of climate resilience hubs, community-driven facilities that support residents, facilitate communication, distribute aid, and provide an opportunity for communities to become more self-sustaining during climate emergencies.”
What does that even mean?
This report amounts to an extended liberal wish list under the guise of a serious study and proposal. It is doubtful that even the left-wing California legislature will adopt these recommendations.
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It is certainly important to understand America’s history of slavery and discrimination. We should also be supportive of actual policies that help lift up people from low-income communities. In education, school choice is a perfect example.
But we should not implement these ridiculous recommendations from ideologues simply because there is a kernel of truth in their premise.
Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.