I was listening to NPR the other day and Diane Rehm was on. I’m not sure what the official subject of the show was, but the conversation moved focused race in America.
One of the topics covered involved the voter ID laws being passed in many states in recent years. The usual points were made in that these voter ID laws impact:
- The poor
- Minorities
I have my usual response to item 1 in that the cost of IDs is hardly onerous or burdensome. But, be that as it may.
It was during the discussion that I was struck by thoughts surrounding item 2. Rather than all this hand wringing over laws that make sense but disproportionately impact minorities creating this manufactured tension, why not address why minorities are disproportionately impacted.
I suspect that no one believes that a black attorney or a Hispanic doctor either doesn’t have ID or would find it difficult to get one.
Just another case of trying to manipulate outcomes to be equal rather than the opportunities.
Anyway, one of her guests was Richard F. America. He discussed reparations in America and specifically mentioned this topic through the words of his book, “Paying The Social Debt.”
I though the conversation interesting enough, and the point of view different enough from mine, that I wanted to read the book. So I went to Amazon:
I’m sure there are a ton of good reasons, but I was just struck by the stones required to charge a hundred bucks for a book on paying social debts.