Opinion: Reparations for past practices

It seems that California is in the mood for making reparations for the wrongs that were suffered by the ancestors of some (about 5 percent) of our state’s residents. So far, policy-makers have zeroed in on a particular racial group, but there are both ethnic and national groups who are carefully watching how the state goes about atoning for the sins of our forefathers.

Originally, the plan was to pay reparations that might have totaled somewhere around $500 billion, but now that the state is facing a $32 billion budget shortfall, the scope of proposed reparation payments has shrunk considerably. At the time of this writing, it’s hard to say exactly what the payout will be and who might eventually receive checks.

Yesterday’s discriminations

While deep-blue California has been trying to rid itself of past discriminatory practices that have had a cumulative effect on today’s African American population, there are other groups who have been oppressed in the past. So far, they are standing mostly on the sidelines and saying, “But what about us?” And here’s where the situation becomes extremely complicated.