Last week, the New York legislature passed a bill to form a commission to explore possible reparations payments.
Gov. Kathy Hochul received the bill but hasn’t done anything about it. Fox News suggested the budget is standing in the way, which is the main argument from critics:
Hochul and New York state lawmakers recently approved the state’s mammoth budget of $229 billion. According to a new budget projection, New York’s expenses will outpace revenues by $9.1 billion next year and $13.9 billion the following year.—Both New York and California have experienced massive exoduses in recent years, with large numbers of residents moving to other states. More than 10,000 New Yorkers, for example, moved to Florida in the first quarter of this year, continuing a trend from the COVID pandemic.The Empire State also lost a staggering $24.5 billion in state-adjusted gross income in 2021 as residents fled to low-tax states, according to IRS data. The data also detailed how California saw the most significant amount of outward migration in 2021, with at least 32,000 taxpayers taking an estimated $29 billion to other states.
The commission “would examine the extent to which the federal and state government supported the institution of slavery.”
But the commission would also examine the “economic, political and educational disparities experienced by Black people in the state today.”
New York City is considering its own reparations program, created by Councilwoman Farah Louis:
Louis’ reparations bill – which only covers the city — would create a nine-member task force that would be required to deliver a report one year after being appointed. Like the state bill, any recommendations would be non-binding and strictly advisory.It is part of a larger legislative package introduced Thursday by some council members of color they said is aimed at “rectifying” historical “injustices.”One measure by Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn) would require the city’s Commission of Racial Equity to create a “Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation” process that establishes “historical facts” about the city’s past use of slavery and then recommends changes for local government and institutions to “prevent recurrence” – even though New York abolished slavery more than two centuries ago, and lost more than 50,000 men while fighting to free slaves during the Civil War.
Councilwoman Sandy Nurse’s bill would force the Public Design Commission and the city to remove statues, monuments, and art of anyone or associated with anyone that “pays tribute to ex-slave owners or people who profited from slavery as well as anyone who committed ‘systemic’ crimes against indigenous peoples or ‘against humanity.'”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY