While you read this letter, the country faces a $28 trillion long-term national debt. It will grow by up to $1.9 trillion more, depending upon the final outcome of the Democrats’ third CARE COVID-19 relief bill. We have more important problems to deal with than proceeding with Washington spending our hard-earned tax dollars to set up a commission to determine if Uncle Sam should pay reparations to decedents of enslaved peoples.
Since passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the private sector along with city, state and federal government at all levels have spent trillions under various programs which benefited African-American citizens. This included minority quotas for both employment hiring and admission to college, awarding of contracts to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, minority business mentoring programs, workplace mentoring programs for promotion to higher positions and others.
Every glass ceiling in both the workplace and government was broken years ago. There are African-American CEOs of multibillion-dollar corporations, billionaires and millionaires. We elected Barack Obama President 13 years ago in 2008. California Sen. Kamala Harris was elected vice president It has been common for decades to find African-American citizens holding senior management positions in government and business. There is now a large, growing and prosperous African-American middle class.
My Jewish ancestors did not own any plantations and did not poison any slaves on Hebrew National Salami. They were too busy running away from the Cossacks and the pogroms.
Several African-American generations have benefited and grown over the past 56 years since passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It is time to move on rather than go back over 156 years to relitigate the 1861-1865 Civil War. We have all grown to look beyond the color of a person’s skin, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or age and accept each person for who they are today.
President Biden, Senate Majority leader Schumer and House Speaker Pelosi promised to unite our nation. How is this action going to accomplish that?
Larry Penner
Great Neck
