
(Scypre.com) – In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic murder and the subsequent calls for a “racial reckoning” in American society, there has been a noticeable surge in support for reparations for Black Americans. However, a recent report from a think tank estimates that closing the wealth gap between Black and White Americans would come with a staggering price tag of approximately $15 trillion, a burden that would fall on taxpayers.
As discussions and debates unfold across cities in the United States regarding the justification for reparations, Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, delved into the question of who would be responsible for shouldering the cost of reparations, assuming they are intended as a form of redress for historical injustices.
Lehman’s report concludes that the most plausible source of funding for reparations would be the American government, and by extension, American taxpayers. He argues that a significant challenge with this approach is that many contemporary Americans do not have ancestors who were in the U.S. prior to the abolition of slavery.
“This reasoning becomes considerably more complex when you consider the large number of recent immigrants who are clearly not connected to historical injustices and often face their own systemic disadvantages,” he pointed out. “Asking these individuals to bear the responsibility for wrongs committed 150 years ago is not something they are necessarily willing to accept.” Given that a considerable portion of the American population descends from post-Civil War immigrants, Lehman believes it is unfair to expect them to foot the bill for reparations, and he notes that with each passing year, the pool of those eligible to pay for the historical debt of slavery continues to shrink due to ongoing immigration.
According to demographic modeling techniques, Lehman estimates that as much as 70% of non-Black Americans, which includes a significant portion of the non-Hispanic White population, have ancestors who arrived after the Civil War. This leaves the remaining 30% of non-Black Americans responsible for financing the trillions of dollars required for reparations.
Lehman’s estimates suggest that somewhere between 75% to 90%, or roughly 30 to 36 million Black Americans, would be eligible for slavery reparations. The estimated cost of reparations varies, ranging from $12.9 trillion on the lower end, equivalent to $360,000 to $430,000 per person, to $53.3 trillion on the higher end, which translates to $1.48 to $1.78 million per person.
“It’s worth noting that there’s a considerable range in the estimated value of reparations, and these figures can grow substantially,” Lehman remarked. “The higher figure of $50 trillion is roughly two to three times larger than the entire annual U.S. GDP.”
Some regions, such as California, have proposed substantial reparations, with the state’s task force recommending payments of $1.2 million for eligible Black residents. Additionally, the Chicago suburb of Evanston has committed to providing $10 million in reparations to around 12,000 Black residents for past discriminatory housing policies.
Reparations initiatives have been proposed or are expected to be implemented in other cities across the United States, including various locations in California, Fulton County in Georgia, Shelby County in Tennessee, Boston, Massachusetts, Detroit, Michigan, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Durham, North Carolina.
Proponents of reparations, like Trevor Smith, the Director of Narrative Change at Liberation Ventures, which supports the Black-led movement for racial repair in the United States, argue that reparations represent a shared obligation to improve the nation for all citizens.
“This leads to an undeniable truth: the U.S. government owes both a moral and financial debt to Black Americans,” Smith stated.
“The history of the United States is indelible, and the call for reparations is not bound by time—there is no statute of limitations on severe human rights violations,” he added. “Another critical aspect of American democracy is the taxation system. Many initiatives funded by taxpayer dollars may not receive personal endorsement from individual taxpayers, such as subsidizing overseas wars. However, that’s the essence of democracy.”
Lehman highlights the fact that for a significant portion of American history, the country was primarily composed of two racial groups: a large White majority and a small Black minority that had historically been oppressed. He notes that this is no longer the case, thanks to immigration liberalization, which has brought about significant demographic changes, including the presence of large groups of Asians, Hispanics, and individuals of mixed racial backgrounds.
“The historical justification for reparations and other inter-group transfers relies in part on the premise that one group has been oppressed, and another group has been the oppressor, with transfers from one to the other being both justified and not disproportionately burdensome for the larger group that historically oppressed,” Lehman added.
In his report, Lehman emphasizes that the increasing diversity of America’s population, coupled with ongoing immigration and changes in wealth distribution, poses challenges for race-based social policies, as well as any proposals for transfers or subsidies based on historical injustices.
As the population continues to evolve and diversify, Lehman argues that the legitimacy of policies like affirmative action, preferential hiring, and funding for Black-owned businesses will become less tenable and accepted. He points to recent examples like the Supreme Court’s decision in The Students for Fair Admissions case, which he suggests was influenced by the rise of the Asian-American population, particularly in higher education. Affirmative action, according to Lehman, began to encompass actions that affected not just Black Americans but also Asian-Americans.
As America becomes more diverse and as a larger portion of its affluent population is descended from recent arrivals, Lehman maintains that the argument for reparations will increasingly alienate Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and other groups who do not see themselves as connected to historical injustices.
“The reparations project is part of a broader effort to redistribute resources, and to the extent that this project retains credibility or continues to be pursued, it will increasingly isolate those who feel they bear no responsibility for historical injustices,” Lehman contends.