Despite the myriad problems plaguing San Francisco, the city is devoting precious resources to a reparations committee tasked with determining how to address the “legacy of slavery.” This, despite the fact that not a single living SF taxpayer owned slaves, nor were any of them enslaved. And some of the recommendations are staggering—we’re talking payments of $5 million to eligible black adults, guaranteed incomes, homes in the wildly expensive city for just $1, and the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens.
While this is focused just on the city level—and it’s still uncertain if anything will come to fruition from the committee—a new Reuters report may bring the issue into focus on the national level.
In a piece that serves to name and shame prominent office-holders who are descendants of slaves, Reuters identifies that “Among America’s political elite…5 living presidents, 2 Supreme Court justices, 11 governors, and 100 legislators descend from ancestors who enslaved Black people.” Absent from the list is Donald Trump.