Poll: Most California voters oppose reparations

A task force in California recommended cash reparations for descendants of slaves earlier this year, but a majority of voters in the state opposed the request, according to the Washington Examiner.

A poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times has revealed that 59% of voters are against the idea of ​​cash payments to certain black residents. The poll also indicates that more than 40% of voters “strongly” opposed the proposed reparations plan.

In June, the California Reparations Task Force released a report after years of studying reparations for black residents. The panel, which was established by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., in 2020 proposed more than 115 policy reforms.

The comprehensive two-year study, which spans more than 1,000 pages, suggests making up for the discrimination through cash payments, which are alleged to amount to millions of dollars.

“It speaks to how poorly educated most Americans are when it comes to slavery and the impact it had on this country and the impact it still has on African Americans today,” said the Senator Steven Bradford, who was part of the task force. .

Since the report, there has been debate over the method and source of payment, with Bradford proposing a 0.5% shift in the state’s annual budget toward an annuity of $1.5 billion. This annuity would reportedly support reparations programs and provide compensation to descendants of slaves over a period of time.

When the poll asked why voters would reject the proposal, 60 percent said, “it’s unfair to ask today’s taxpayers to pay for the wrongs done in the past.” Additionally, 53% responded, “it is not fair to single out one group for reparation when other racial and religious groups have been wronged in the past.”

The poll was conducted with 6,030 registered voters in California from August 24-29 and has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.