Voters in California believe that handing out slavery reparations in the form of cash payments is “unfair,” a new poll has revealed.
The poll was conducted by the Los Angeles Times and the University of California, Berkeley.
According to the survey, voters overwhelmingly oppose the idea of cash payments for black descendants of slaves by a 2-to-1 margin.
The poll found that 59% of voters oppose cash reparations payments.
Just 28 percent, meanwhile, support the idea.
A whopping 40 percent of voters said they “strongly” oppose the idea.
While using tax dollars to fund such a scheme was noted as an issue, only 19% of those opposed cited cost.
The majority simply stated that it is wrong to single out one group for reparations and “unfair” to today’s taxpayers.
According to the LA Times report:
In the Berkeley poll, when voters who oppose reparations were asked why, the two main reasons cited most often were that “it’s unfair to ask today’s taxpayers to pay for wrongs committed in the past,” picked by 60% of voters, and “it’s not fair to single out one group for reparations when other racial and religious groups have been wronged in the past,” chosen by 53%.
Only 19% said their reason was that the proposal would cost the state too much, suggesting that money alone is not the main objection.
Among Democrats, 43% favored and 41% opposed cash reparations.
Republicans were strongly against the proposal at 90% with only 5% in favor.
Independents were 65% opposed and 22% in favor.
Black California voters were more likely to support cash payments than any other demographic, with 76% in favor and 16% opposed, the survey found.
Almost two-thirds of white voters were opposed as were 6 in 10 Latino and Asian voters.
The poll’s director, Mark DiCamillo, warned that reparations advocates will struggle to win the public over on the issue in light of the results.
“It has a steep uphill climb, at least from the public’s point of view,” said DiCamillo, who was obviously disappointed at the results.
“The idea of cash reparations is really what’s being strongly opposed,” he continued.
“There could be other solutions that could be much more warmly received.”
The reality revealed by the poll could put Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats in a tight spot.
California leaders have vocally endorsed the idea of reparations.
In 2020, the state even created California’s Reparations Task Force.
The objective was to create a model for national reparations.
However, they are sailing against strong winds, as the poll reveals.
The task force proposes payments to all descendants of slavery based on a plethora of criteria.
The criteria range from health disparities to housing discrimination.
But the group also suggests ending the death penalty, restoring voting rights to all incarcerated individuals, and implementing rent caps in historically redlined areas.
“Members of the reparations task force previously said convincing non-black Californians that the harms from slavery are still persisting today could be one of the biggest challenges for proponents,” according to the LA Times.
“Much of the task force’s work centered on hearing testimony from academics, economists, and other experts to gather evidence of the effects of slavery and to prove the ways in which government-sanctioned policies discriminated against black people long after slavery was abolished.”
Newsom previously stated reparations are more than just cash payments.
“It doesn’t have to be in the frame of writing a check; reparations come in many different forms,” Newsom told Fox News host Sean Hannity when asked about his stance on reparations in the spring.
“But one cannot deny these historical facts, and I really believe very strongly we have to come to grips with what’s happened.”
When asked whether the state is “doing enough” to ensure that black residents have a fair chance to succeed, 29% said California is doing too little.
22% said the state is doing too much.
26% said it’s just enough.
Nearly 1/4, or 23%, had no opinion.
READ MORE: ‘Woke’ Professor: U.S Taxpayers Owe $14 Trillion in Reparations
