California Republican rips off Gavin Newsom for backing out of reparations payment

California Governor Gavin Newsom has come under fire for backing out of his reparations plans for black residents.

The governor created a task force in September 2020 to study the economic effects of slavery and discrimination in the state, making California the first state to begin studying the possibility of reparations for black Americans — even though slavery had been out of existence before. California exile joined the union.

It last week approved its final recommendations for reparations of at least $360,000 for black Californians, though payments could be as high as $1.2 million.

But on Tuesday, Newsom declined to endorse the task force’s specific recommendations, arguing that addressing the impact of slavery and discrimination “is about much more than cash payments.”

Now a Republican critic said Newsom was in a “lose-lose” situation as speculation mounts that he could run against President Joe Biden in the primary.

“Whatever he does, he’s going to anger some of his base,” said Republican Assembly leader James Gallagher. FOX News digital.

It takes an absurd mental gymnastics to demand California taxpayers, including new immigrants, low-income workers, and even some African Americans, to atone for a mistake committed by other states more than 150 years ago. , but that’s the position Newsom put himself in. ,’ said Gallagher.

He then berated Newsom for making “big promises that he can’t or won’t keep.”

Newsom signed the bill establishing the task force in September 2020, following widespread protests over the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The task force hearings drew large crowds and impassioned activists rallied for hundreds of thousands of dollars for black residents.

In a statement to Fox news Newsom said, “This has been an important process and we must continue to work as a nation to atone for our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country.

“Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments,” he added, pledging to continue “systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians.”

Many of the task force’s recommendations are critical action points that we are already working hard on: breaking down voting barriers, strengthening resources to address hate, implementing sweeping law enforcement and judicial reforms to build trust and security, enhancing economic mobility – all while investing billions to eliminate inequalities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare and much more.

“This work must continue,” he said.

But the governor has never explicitly agreed to the reparations the task force proposed, which will be sent to the California State Legislature in July.

Instead, he said, “Following the submission of the task force’s final report this summer, I look forward to continuing to work with the legislature to implement systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians.”

The nine-member group voted last week to recommend that the state send checks of up to $1.2 million to black Californians, based on what has been lost through specific forms of racial discrimination.

That includes $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.”

It also works out to $13,619 per person per year for California residents for “health injustices and discrimination” and $77,000 per person for black 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.

The reparations task force has also asked that those eligible receive cash “down payments” once recommendations become law, while they wait for compensation to be calculated.

Those eligible for the payments include any descendant of enslaved African Americans or of a “free black person who lived in the United States before the late 1800s.”

It wrote in its report, “The first deposit is the beginning of a process to address historic injustices, not the end of it.”

If legislation is passed for the payments, the committee suggested creating a state agency to process claims and make payments, prioritizing older black residents.

About 1.8 million people in California identify as Black or African American.

The total cost of the program is estimated at $640 billion, more than double the state budget of $300 billion.

It comes as the state faces a deficit for the first time in years.

The projected deficit of $31.5 billion would be California’s first budget deficit since Newsom took office in 2019, following several years of booming surpluses as tax revenues soared.

California has a progressive tax system that relies heavily on wealthy people and taxes investment gains as regular income, meaning it gets about half of its income from just 1 percent of the population.

When the economy is good and the stock market is rising, the wealthy pay more taxes and revenues can rise quickly. When the economy goes bad, they pay less and revenues can plummet just as hard.

The economic reality means that payments of hundreds of thousands in reparations were extremely unlikely.

Critics now say that Newsom only came up with the idea of ​​a reparations task force to score political points, thinking it would never make it through the state legislature.

But proponents of the payments have urged Newsom to give us his authority as governor to unilaterally approve the proposal.

“This futile reparations exercise exposes the non-serious nature of Governor Newsom’s leadership,” said Republican lawmaker Bill Essayli.

“Instead of tackling California’s problems head-on, he prefers headlines and idle committees.

“It might work in a state with a supermajority of Democrats, like California,” Essayli said, “but the rest of America will see right through it.”

Elizabeth Kolstad, chairwoman of the Fresno County Republican Committee, also said, “Creating this committee was another half-baked vote-and-award ploy that has landed him in dangerous waters with no path to safety.”

“What is clear is that if Gavin’s committee recommendations are implemented, CA will sink faster than the Titanic — only the Titanic’s lights were on it when it went down.”

Still, Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore said she’s hopeful that recommendations, including the payments, can gain enough support from state lawmakers.

“We did our best,” Moore said of the group’s work.