WASHINGTON DC—A hot topic in the 2020 presidential campaign is the demand of most democratic candidates for some sort of financial reparations for descendants of African slaves. They are calling for government funds to be paid to every person of color who can prove a genealogical link to slavery, as a way to right the injustices faced by their ancestors generations long gone. Those who are opposed to the notion of reparations believe it is unjust to require today’s citizens, who have never owned slaves, to pay those who have never been slaves.
Senate Republicans heightened the discussion of reparations today with their own plan they are calling “restoration,” which takes an entirely new approach to the issue. Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) explained, "We understand the injustice and frustration over the nation's history of slavery, and we want to make things right. We have a plan in place for individuals to receive justice provided they can provide proof of lineage linked to slaves and cite three ways their life is worse off for having been born in the United States rather than in one of the nations of Africa."
Democrats have scoffed at the seemingly impossible requirement, and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) declared, “How could anyone say that life is worse in America than in Africa?” But republicans say nearly any and every claim would be acceptable, for example, the cost of higher education in America continues to climb at alarming rates unmatched in Africa, and healthcare costs in America cannot compare with the low prices of contracting a mosquito-borne illness and dying before age 30. And taxes aren't nearly as high in Africa. The list is endless. “Heck,” remarked Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), “I kinda wish I were descended from slaves so I could get in on this…”
To those individuals and families who can fill these few requirements, the government plans to “restore” them to their natural habitat from which their ancestors were removed by the cruel and inhumane practice of slavery, by returning them to the respective African nations of their ancestry, where they can take up life as if there had been no slavery at all. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and chief author of the idea stated, “Not all U.S. citizens consented to be born here, so this is a plan that can make everyone happy.”
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