Yes, that's a common objection to Reparations: that the guilty parties are all dead, and making amends to the descendants of enslaved Africans would cause undue burden on white people living now, who never owned slaves and, in many cases, their ancestors never owned slaves either.

That's one reason I want to fund Reparations through capital gains taxes and through re-allocation of funds now devoted to the military and prison industries. Many of the big corporations in the world now got their start by making money on the slave trade in previous centuries. In particular, many of the older banks and insurance companies got their start this way. In addition, many of the newer corporations, though not in existence prior to the 20th century, make their profits on the misery of low-paid and "essential" workers, a disproportionate number of these workers are Black people and other peoples of color.

Here in the USA many prisons are run by private corporations, and industries within the prisons produce manufactured goods at discount prices because prison labor costs only a tiny fraction of what workers make on the outside. Since the policing system here puts a disproportionate number of Black people in jail, the prison industrial system may be seen as a continuation of slavery into modern times. In particular, the corrupt systems of plea bargaining and cash bails mean that poor people -- especially poor people of color -- are more likely to wind up in jail, often for crimes that they did not even commit.

So there are a lot of resources that could be re-allocated to fund Reparations without harming ordinary working people of any color. Most people here in the USA don't realize how great the wealth disparity is here in this country, greater than that of any other developed country. The system here is designed to siphon the people's wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Many of these hands aren't even human hands; they are corporations, existing only as legal constructs, lacking conscience or any other human obligations except the obligation to make more money.

Here in the USA, the Citizens United Act gave corporations the same rights as human beings, even though they lack the same responsibilities or sensibilities as human beings. This is a serious problem, affecting working people of all colors. Many people here in the USA no longer have faith in our representative democracy, because, due to Citizens United, elections and other forms of public influence are for sale at prices that only corporations and millionaires can afford. In the 2016 presidential election, only about 40% of eligible voters actually cast a ballot, because people have lost faith in the system. Putin was able to exploit this flaw to place a man in the Presidency who would cater to Putin's interests, and who does not and never did have majority support. This should not happen in a democracy, but it happened here, because of the influence of big money in our government systems.

Some people think that Reparations should benefit all of society, beginning with those most impacted by slavery -- Black people -- and extending outward to all. There are several arguments for this. One is that, while slavery harmed Black people the most, it also harmed all working people by undercutting wages and causing various complex social problems that haunt us all to this day. Another is that not all Black people here in the USA are descendants of slaves, and some non-Black people are descended from slaves also. Thus, short of DNA testing everyone, there is no way to make sure that all -- and only --descendants of enslaved Africans would benefit. My idea of making Reparations community-based rather than individual-based would address these concerns.

Other people say that Reparations should be done in such a way that only Black people would benefit, otherwise there would not be enough to go around. I believe that people who say this are underestimating the huge amount of wealth tied up in corporations and the military / prison complex. If these resources could be released to develop predominately Black communities in ways that the people see as best, poverty and its attendant crime and despair would greatly diminish, community wealth and health would increase, improving life quality for all.

Reparations could also address environmental problems -- pollution and global warming -- since these problems impact poor people and people of color the worst. Some communities may decide to use their Reparations funds to build sustainable energy industries. Or they may choose to clean up the hazardous waste dumps which lie beneath many poor and working-class neighborhoods here in the USA -- a disproportionate number of which are inhabited by Black people and other people of color. Moreover, if people see that Reparations makes life better for everyone, by healing urban blight, reducing crime, improving public health and general human living conditions, and healing the environment, then the majority would be more likely to support it. This is especially so if Reparations are funded in ways that draw from the vast wealth at the top rather than from the pockets of ordinary white working people.

But first we have to get the idea out there, that Reparations is feasible as well as necessary. The legacy of slavery hurts Black people the most, but affects all working people to some degree. "None of us are free till all of us are free." Reparations would heal Black people the most, but, if done right, would heal us all, and heal the Earth as well.