The California Reparations Task Force believes the estimated $800 billion cost of its proposals is a “very prudent” minimum that could rise even further as more “harm and atrocities” faced by black people are accounted for.
A report from the nine-member commission, whose proposed reparations would be more than double the state’s annual budget, said the dazzling projections are “deliberately conservative.”
The five criteria of ‘harm and cruelty’ used to calculate costs, including housing discrimination and health disparities, are ‘not exhaustive’ [and] the total of estimated losses for African Americans is not a definitive estimate of all losses,” the task force said.
“Further data collection and research would be needed to augment these initial estimates,” their report added. “Furthermore, since the estimates of costs by the Task Force and its economic experts are deliberately conservative, the legislature may have to pay compensation in amounts greater than the calculated amount.”
The observation is made in a report on the task force’s final recommendations, which also stated that reparations for disproportionate arrests for drug crimes alone amount to $228 billion.
The California reparations task force on Saturday approved recommendations estimated to cost $800 billion. But a report said the findings are “deliberately conservative” and the final figure is likely to be higher as more “harm and atrocities” are accounted for.
The Reparations Task Force was created by California Governor Gavin Newsom following the 2020 assassination of George Floyd. The task force’s final recommendations are expected to be sent to lawmakers on July 1.
Kamilah Moore, the chair of the panel, said the compensation element of the recommendation has been largely completed. Copies of the interim report released by the task force last year
The recovery committee approved its list of recommendations on Saturday, and they are expected to be sent to lawmakers before July 1. California lawmakers will then vote on whether to include the findings in law.
A black California resident who has lived in the state all his life until he is 71 years old could receive more than $1.2 million in compensation if the recommendations are passed into law.
Reparations were calculated based on five criteria: health damage, housing discrimination, mass incarceration and excessive policing, unjust property settlements, and devaluation of African-American businesses.
The commission said in its latest set of documents: “The Task Force expects the legislature to be able to add additional harm and atrocities to this list…
Since this list of harms and atrocities is not exhaustive, the total of estimated losses to African Americans is not a definitive estimate of all losses.
“It is rather a very conservative initial estimate of what costs the state of California will be responsible for in any case. Further data collection and research is needed to improve these initial estimates.”
A breakdown of reparations for disproportionate arrests for drug crimes shows that it was calculated by looking at the number of non-Hispanic black people arrested for such crimes each year between 1970 and 2020.
Experts then calculated how many “excess” arrests were by adjusting the figure so that it was relative to California’s population of black people during each year. The amount was then multiplied by $20,000—”the annual compensation amount for loss of liberty”—to give a grand total of $227,858,891,023.
The final report is due to be sent to lawmakers before July 1, where it will forecast compensation estimates calculated by several economists the group works with
Speaking at a rally on Saturday, some residents, including Reverend Tony Pierce, said the recommendations are “not nearly enough” and demanded up to $200 million per resident
A further breakdown shows that the recommendations are $2,352 lost per person per year for overpolicing and mass incarceration of black communities and $3,366 per person per year of residence between 1933 and 1977 for “discriminatory lending and zoning.”
There is an additional $13,619 per person per year of residence in California for “health injustices and discrimination” and $77,000 per person for black-owned business losses and devaluations.
This means that a lifetime black resident of California aged at least 71 can receive more than $1.2 million in compensation. Most eligible residents would receive less because the amount would be calculated based on age and time they lived in California during the relevant time periods.
Some residents and activists have called for more, including one person at Saturday’s rally who said the true cost should be $200 million per African American.
Reverend Tony Pierce expressed frustration, pointing to the country’s “broken promise” to offer 40 acres and a mule to newly freed slaves.
He said, ‘You know the numbers should be questionable for what an acre was at the time. We got 40, okay? We got 40 acres.
“You know what that number is. You keep trying to talk about the now, but you research back into slavery and you don’t say anything about slavery, nothing.
So the ambiguous number from the 1860s for 40 acres to today is $200 million for each African American.
Serious and difficult questions remain about who is eligible for reparations. The commission agreed last March that eligibility will be based on ancestry, meaning only Californians who can prove descent from enslaved people can get the payments.
But the finer details of how to establish the evidence have yet to be explained.
Cheryl Grills, a member of the task force, said the actual amount the state pays out is the “least important” aspect of the program.
A final report detailing the proposed reward is expected to be released by the task force on July 1. State legislators will then consider the proposal
A member of the task force recently complained that the headlines about his work were dominated by the huge sums of money they were proposing.
Cheryl Grills, a member of the task force, said the actual amount the state pays black residents is the “least important” aspect of the program, which is ultimately about acknowledging how harm has been done.
“We want to make sure this is presented in a way that doesn’t reinforce preoccupation with a dollar figure, which is the least important part,” Grills told CalMatters.
“It is important, but least important, to get to a point in our country’s history and in California’s history where we recognize that the damage crosses multiple areas and domains and that the repair needs to align with that.
‘It’s a real pity. I think it’s actually sad to see that our news media can’t nuance better. It’s almost like, “What’s going to be sensational” as opposed to what’s important,” she said.
The task force has produced thousands of pages of reports identifying the need for reparations, including mass incarceration, unjust property seizures, black business devaluation and health inequality.
But at a task force meeting last month, Sen. Steven Bradford said it would be an “uphill battle” to get the legislature to pass recommendations.