How do Blacks in America get paid reparations for slavery?
What's needed is for a Black reparations Mike Milken bond wizard to step up, take charge, and raise a trillion dollars by selling reparation-backed bonds.
On paper, the idea of reimbursing the Black community in America a trillion dollars in back pay owed to them for having essentially built, over the course of 300 years, much of the US economy makes sense. But trying to get the government to pay back this money doesn't make sense. The government has demonstrated a profound incapability in accounting skills when justice is being accounted for and the net result in this case would undoubtedly mean America's Black community would be worse off.
The obliteration of Black home ownership in America caused by rapacious, predatory sub-prime schemes on Wall Street is a case in point.
Before going any further, let me explain why I use the term Black, with a capital 'B' instead of African-American.
I grew up in America during the '60's and '70's when the phrases 'Black Power,' 'Black Panther', and 'Black is Beautiful' came along to replace 'Negro.' Negro didn't sound very empowering, not even when it was coming out of the mouth of a giant like Medgar Evers while crusading for civil rights.
Obviously, a change in the language was needed to empower the Black community. James Brown figured this out and penned the anthem;
Black is cool like Miles. African-American sounds a bit like Kenny G.
I digress, getting back to my idea for Black Reparation Bonds.
Activists in the black community have only to avail themselves to the greatest force for political and social change of the past 100 years to make it happen. Don't be victimized by Wall Street. Turn it back on itself. Understand that credit-creation and dealing is the key to getting that reparation money back.
Since 1913 and the creation of the Fed, the business of America has been credit-creation and dealing. Instead of being victimized by this with 'pay check loan' schemes, and other forms of predatory lending on Wall Street, Blacks in America should do like Mike Milken and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by simply creating a new asset-backed security of their own.
Black Reparation Bonds, or Black Liberation Certificates (BLC's), would work by selling $1 trillion in high yielding bonds today to yield hungry investors around the world. These bonds would be collateralized by a new law passed into existence in the year 2009 when President Obama takes office guaranteeing repayments (tied to reparations) to bond holders over the life of the bond.
The trillion or so raised in the short term could be used by the Black community in any way they see fit, like rebuilding New Orleans, or various inner city ghettoes, or America's bridges and roads and we would all benefit. Or buy the Museum of Modern Art and make it a 'Blacks Only' club.
This is not unlike James Brown, the Godfather of soul selling his 'James Brown bonds' based on the recurring revenue stream of his catalogue of music, just bigger and badder.
Quick political idea:Why doesn't Obama put all the candidates he's considering for VP on his site and let the people pick his VP for him -- with the understanding that part of the role of the VP going forward would be to represent netizens in Washington on issues important to netizens such as net neutrality and copyright reform.