On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill to establish a “slavery reparations committee” that will create recommendations on statutory changes and potential monetary reparations for state residents of African descent.
However, the issue of reparations is a contentious battle for most Americans.
In 1817, New York abolished slavery. Over the years, leaders have been trying to “rectify” past racial discrimination through minority loans and grants, affirmative action, and other programs.
The move might be good for publicity, but that’s all there is to it. Overall, it shows how hypocritical these leaders are in addressing historical injustices.
This committee would have to come up with some astronomical number to calculate how much it is to pay for the crime of “historical racism” which dates back two centuries ago.
A New York Post op-ed slammed the bill and said “[the bill] will infuriate white residents who don’t agree with collective punishment for actions they were not a part of — not to mention other ethnic groups that have their own grievances.”
The board also said that later on “the governor will be forced to admit that New York can’t afford to spend billions in reparations, which will embitter black residents who were falsely promised a payout.”
Republicans New York State Senator Rob Ortt and New York GOP Chair Ed Cox expressed strong criticisms about the bill.
Ortt said that the commission is “divisive” and “unworkable.” The state senator argued that the reparations of slavery had already been paid “with the blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery during the Civil War.”
He added that any recommendations from the committee would only hurt the residents rather than help, as it opens up old wounds.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey, while six out of ten Democrats are in favor of reparations and a mere 18 percent of GOP members agree.
Cox described Hochul’s move as “misguided” and criticized her for not attending to more pressing issues of the state, such as the growing number of migrants who enter the US-Mexico border or addressing the surge in crime rate in New York.
“Governor Hochul’s decision to endorse this divisive and unproductive reparations study is misguided,” declared Cox.
The New York State Young Republicans slammed the law and said it’s “pitting New Yorkers against each other.”
The bill is merely a political stunt by the left, lacking any tangible actions. Instead, it only worsens the already fragile community relations
No one alive today has been a slave or owned a slave. They want reparations then go to Africa and get it from the ancestors of the tribal leaders thst raided the villages and sold them to the slave traders period. We don’t owe them anything at all.