Why I’m skeptical of reparations. Part 3: Black behaviors not conducive to economic success.

So, why am I skeptical of reparations, and why am I only sympathetic toward a relatively small reparations payout?

One, part of the disparity we see today between blacks and whites is a result of black behavior.

Two, the ideal form of reparation is the actual perpetrator paying the actual victim. That isn’t possible here.

Three, the consequences of slavery for a modern descendent of slaves may actually be positive compared to living in poor and dysfunctional Africa.

Four, Americans didn’t invent slavery, nor did they enslave free peoples. Americans took part in an institution that was accepted around the world and throughout time, then, after a few hundred years, Americans ended it.

Five, some reparations are arguably already paid through programs targeted based on race.

Six, nothing is free, especially not trillions of dollars in reparations, and paying for this may be too costly.

These six mitigations make me against a huge reparations payment. A larger payment is usually based on a few different ideas: the size of the current black-white wealth gap, the interest or inflation adjusted value of 40 acres and a mule, or the interest or inflation adjusted pay slaves should have received.

While not every mitigation applies equally to each of these bases for a massive reparation…