Newsom Denies His Own Political Scheme After Reparations Estimated To Cost The State Up To $800 Billion

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) struck down the reparations plan for California that was approved by a commission over the weekend. The plan would award some black residents over a million dollars for past racism. 

Newsom spoke with Fox News, saying that the process of dealing with the legacy of slavery is “about much more than cash payments.” Newsom stated, "The Reparations Task Force’s independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing. This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country.”

Despite rejecting the measure, Newsom still praised the task force for the work they had done. Newsom failed to mention any actual recommendations, instead just pledging he would continue to “advance systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians.”

Newsome continued his praise, saying, “Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond.”

The committee voted in favor of several recommendations on Saturday, the most notable one being that black residents of California would be eligible for checks of a minimum of $360,000. The checks would scale up to $1.2 million depending on a multitude of factors. The payout was totaled to cost upwards of $800 billion, as previously reported by the DC Enquirer. 

California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher has been adamantly against the idea from the start, referring to it as a “fool’s errand.” Breitbart has quoted Gallagher saying, “Newsom has painted himself into a corner, and he’ll have to choose between signing off on a ridiculous policy that will bankrupt the state or admitting once and for all this task force was nothing more than a political stunt.”

Newsom's response represents exactly what Gallagher claimed. Newsom attempted his best to maintain his progressive image by praising the task force on their work but clearly intended it to be a show from the start as he provided no meaningful input to the next step for the panel. He only wanted to paint himself and California as progressive and pro-black, but instead to anyone half intelligent, showed he wishes to only dangle radical ideas to appease a small group of extremists and do nothing meaningful.