re: The Atlantic publishes article claiming white folks stole 6.6 billion dollars of land

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And we (white folks and black folks) originally stole it from the Indians. So that being the case two groups of thieves fencing or squabbling amongst themselves over "hot merchandise" is really of no consequence.

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Regardless of how it turned out, the Indians clearly received lots of reparations.

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Yes, that's sort of the idea.

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It’s a horrible idea. If the FDA wants to pay out a billion, fine. It comes out of their budget.

Them handing the bill to us to assuage their conscience is easy. Actually paying for it isn’t.

This happens on big and small scales all throughout government. A local suburban community in the STL area has been paying out large claims to city employees that the city lawyer has been basically complicit on because there’s no real responsibility from a city budgetary perspective. That’s the resident’s problem.

It’s dumb and you know it is. You just like where the finish line is for this particular argument.

I made no comment, implied or otherwise about the size. I merely noted it was restricted to those who had a documented case.

Not a “well they were around so they suffered injury” case.

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It’s a horrible idea. If the FDA wants to pay out a billion, fine. It comes out of their budget.

Them handing the bill to us to assuage their conscience is easy. Actually paying for it isn’t.

This happens on big and small scales all throughout government. A local suburban community in the STL area has been paying out large claims to city employees that the city lawyer has been basically complicit on because there’s no real responsibility from a city budgetary perspective. That’s the resident’s problem.

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I understand all of this. So then the burden is on the electorate to actually put together a decent government. We get what we elect. I think you know I am no supporter whatsoever of bad cops. But if we can't see it through at the municipal level to have a decent system in play, then that's on us.

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It’s dumb and you know it is. You just like where the finish line is for this particular argument.

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What is your opinion on Japanese reparations? (I actually think they shouldn't have gotten them on the merits; however, I think the principle is fine.)

But why are you only focused on lawsuits? What about debts incurred for things like prosecuting ill-advised wars? Why should the current set of taxpayers be on the hook for debt taken on to finance the debacle in Iraq (or Vietnam)?

I just don't think your position logically inheres. If the standard is that every discrete federal payment MUST be approved by the current set of taxpayers - implying it is immoral for future taxpayers to be on the hook - then you can't do anything ever.

The very nature of a sovereign government is that it is the non-expiring/permanent expression of the constantly-revolving electorate's republican governance.

Pay up whitey.

I suppose you could give this portion of the populous every thing the want and it wouldn't be enough. As I drive around south Dallas, I try to remind myself how appreciative they are of what they have.

I didn't steal anything from anyone.

Watched my daddy try to stay afloat paying an 18% operating loan on his row crop operation & hog farm while feeding $1.25 bushel corn to six cent hogs during the Carter administration. He was white & lost everything he had at the time. Where tf do I sign up?

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I think the financial burden of war is a great comparison. If the military had to stick to a budget in a war, we might have fewer of them.

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Right. But you're not answering my direct question: given that we commit to these wars and take on associated liabilities years into the future, how do you square that with your evident principle that those who didn't do it shouldn't pay for it?

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The whole idea that a “need” exists, ergo a government payment is incoming, is part of parcel of the sickness of our federal budgetary system.

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I'm not sure what you are referring to here. Please clarify.

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If DeBlasio had to figure out where the $49M settlement for the Central Park thugs had to actually come from, we might have a more truth-based approach to the whole situation.

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I mean, we know where it comes from. The City of New York.

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I made no comment, implied or otherwise about the size. I merely noted it was restricted to those who had a documented case.

Not a “well they were around so they suffered injury” case.

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Reduce it to whichever number of people in this instance who can document a case. It's still a lot.

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My point is predatory lending & land loss is color blind.

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"Predatory lending" is not a good description of what happened here. What happened was EXCLUSIONARY lending as well as other bad acts from government agents such as tax assessors. And it was the farthest thing from color blind that it could be.