Reparations

Bottom Lines Top Dollars

The Black Lives movement and other grassroots movements for racial justice have worked tireless to push the issue of reparations for descendants of enslaved people into the spotlight of American politics. In the last year the issue has been hotly debated with some insisting on their necessity and others disqualifying them as impractical or impossible. In most instances when politicians or others don't support reparations, it is for issues of economic impracticality. And this is where the Ladies Who Crunch step into the debate.

In this episode we ask: What are reparations? What is their purpose and goal? How do they come to be enacted? How do we measure or value reparations? Is it better to measure the original harm or the outcome of that harm? What possible forms can reparations take, both monetary and non-monetary? How have reparations been valued and implemented in the past? Must reparations include direct cash payments or can they be entirely composed of in-kind or non-monetary elements such as land, educational programs, employment opportunities, commemorative projects and political representation? How can the government fund reparations? What kind of economic challenges do we face when figuring out how to fund and implement reparations on a nation-state level? Are there other levels at which reparations can occur? Are "individual" or "inter-personal" reparations groups online really engaged in a reparations project or is it something else? Is backlash (race or class war) an inevitable externality of reparations like "The Watchmen" envisioned or can the financial composition of reparations avoid this outcome? Can we truly repair harm through reparations? Can capitalism ever truly address the historical harms of war, colonialism, genocide and other forms of systemic violence?

From inflation to baby bonds and modern monetary theory to programs to tax profiteers, this episode of Bottom Lines Top Dollars digs deep into the money issues of reparations so that you can engage meaningfully with anyone who tries to end the debate at "that's not economically viable".

We try to hit as many points as we can, but we know what we could always go deeper or say more. If you have more questions or want us to come back and address any specific issues discussed in this podcast in more detail, please let us know! Email us at [e-mail] or find us on FB, IG or Twitter! We will be doing a listener mail episode at the end of the season and we are also taking suggestions for topics to cover in season 2 (spring 2021)!

Although we dig into the issue of reparations from the perspective of accounting, finance and economics, if you are interested in delving into the legal and political issues, please check out our detailed show notes on our website. We have compiled a list of links to podcasts and articles that can fill days on end! Go to ladieswhocrunch.club to dive in!

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The Ladies Who Crunch are Hadassah Damien and Laura Boo. More information about us and this podcast can be found at ladieswhocrunch.club.

Special thanks to our researchers Ariel Federow and Handy Levine.

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CW - During this podcast we reference various instances of violence and trauma that have resulted in reparations and we discuss how pain and suffering of survivors have been measured economically in the past, which could be painful or difficult to hear.