If Oregon Democrats have their way, it will soon be a good time to be black in the Beaver State — six figures good. As the United States struggles to keep up with the costs of a deadly pandemic, and Americans are more divided than ever, Democrat state Senators in Oregon have somehow come up with something that will both rack up a ridiculous amount of taxpayer debt and further the divide between races — a massive “Reparations” payment to African-Americans.
Not a single black person alive was a slave, nor were their parents. Slavery is a shameful part of our history we left behind long ago. Since then, African-Americans have been given the same rights and opportunities as everyone else — moreso when discriminatory “affirmative action” policies are taken into account. But Oregon Democrats say that simply for the virtue of their skin color, African-Americans need to be paid the handsome sum of $123,000 — each. The Daily Wire reports:
According to a copy of the state Senate bill, the government will pay six figures to any person who can demonstrate that they are a descendant of American slaves and have “identified as African-American” on legal documents.
The text of the bill directs the state Department of Revenue to establish a reparations payment program to black Oregonians “who can demonstrate heritage in slavery” and provide documentation that they identify as “African-American” for at least 10 years. Recipients must reside in the state for at least two years before the application deadline of Dec. 31, 2022.
The payment would be an annuity where recipients would receive $123,000 paid out over the course of their life, plus interest.
A “lifetime” would be determined by the average lifespan of an African-American person. In an example given, a 30-year-old black man would receive a salary of $2,733 per year just for existing because the average lifespan of a black man is 75 years. With interest, that number could rise to $2,870 per year. This would be paid in addition to any actual income that man earned. Republicans estimate that this race-based gift could cost Oregonian taxpayers a whopping $11.8 trillion and would likely increase taxes for everyone else.
There is also worry among those who are willing to think more reasonably about this exercise in government overreach and waste that a yearly stipend just for existing may cause an influx of black folks to come to the state in hopes of getting another round of reparations payments.
Democrats’ push for Reparations doesn’t stop at the state level either. Joe Biden is exploring a plan to make historically black colleges and universities free for African-Americans — on the taxpayers’ dime, that is.
We are all Americans. This is true regardless of creed, race, or any other factors Democrats traditionally use to divide us and create an “us versus them” mentality. Now is the time for unity, but the Left is going in the opposite direction.
