From: Wilson@nowhere.invalid   
      
   "An ordinance creating a reparations fund for Black residents in San   
   Francisco has finally been signed into law, but the program lacks an   
   identified source of funding. Mayor Daniel Lurie has stated that no city   
   funds will be used, (even though he signed the law!) emphasizing the   
   fund's reliance on private donations...none of which have been received.   
      
   In other words, no one who pushed this preposterous idea forward has   
   pledged a penny toward its practical implementation. I refer   
   specifically to the philanthropists on The San Francisco Board of   
   Supervisors: The 11-member star chamber who unanimously approved the   
   legislation on December 16, 2025. More specifically, I refer to   
   Supervisors Chan, Chen, Dorsey, Fielder, Mahmood, Mandelman, Melgar,   
   Sauter, Sherrill, Walton, and Wong.   
      
   The San Francisco Human Rights Commission is now tasked with overseeing   
   this fund, which is intended to accept private donations to support   
   recommendations from the African American Reparations Advisory   
   Committee. Again - no many has been contributed. Not a penny. But the   
   city has already spent approximately $217,000 on stipends for the   
   reparations committee members who developed the proposal.   
      
   If you think the whole thing sounds merely crazy, consider the math. The   
   major cost component of the proposal is the $5 million payment for each   
   black citizen who is 18 years or older. The Census Bureau estimates   
   there are 35,445 individuals who are 18 years or older, given the age   
   distribution of the African American population. Eligibility for the $5   
   million payments is very broad so we can assume that all African   
   Americans 18 years and older currently living in the city will be   
   eligible for these payments. Paying $5 million to 35,455 individuals   
   totals about $175 billion. To put this in perspective, the city’s budget   
   for the current fiscal year is $14 billion, while this proposed sum   
   exceeds the current state budgets of all US states except for   
   California, New York, and Texas.   
      
   Again, I’m not sharing this to start a conversation about the wisdom or   
   the folly of reparations. I’m sharing this to further illustrate the   
   rank hypocrisy of our elected officials, and their endless desire to be   
   celebrated by the people who voted them in. Today, those people are   
   congratulating themselves for establishing a fund that absolutely no one   
   is funding - including them."   
      
   - Mike Rowe   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)