Posted BY: Joe Fried
Every so often, some Democrats call for reparations to compensate Black Americans for slavery and other indignities.
The latest plan comes from San Francisco, where a reparations committee is considering a program that would offer $5 million per qualified Black resident.
Let’s analyze the issue of reparations from the standpoint of morality and practicality.
Most people believe that compensation for misdeeds should come from the people who caused the misdeeds. For example, if John Smith and Joe Brown recklessly damage your car, you expect Smith and Brown (or their insurance companies) to pay for the repairs. Normally, you would not expect the repairs to be financed by the entire town in which you live: That would make no sense.
What if Joe Brown died shortly after the accident? Would you expect his children or grandchildren to pay you? Probably not. Instead, your claim for compensation would be focused on the surviving reckless driver, John Smith. We can apply this logic to the reparations issue.
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Obviously, no person alive today existed during the slave era or as an adult in the subsequent Jim Crow or Ku Klux Klan eras.
However, there are certain responsible entities that existed then and now:
