American Reparations - 'Shakedown' Cost Analysis

And speaking of morality, critics should be sure that their opposition isn't really just about the money. ...Imagine if those demanding reparations were willing to accept a token and symbolic victory of one penny each — accompanied by a heartfelt apology from the federal government and even a day of fasting and prayer from the American people — wouldn't it be at least a lot harder to argue against the proposal? Federal bureaucrats lose more loose change than that under the couch cushions every day
-- Jonah Goldberg, March 2001

There is a very simpleminded idea about reparations which has been racialized and made to seem to be something other than it is. Often the assumption made is that reparations are a racial shakedown. It seems to me that the first thing to understand would be the costs on that admittedly worse case basis. This gives us an idea of what might be suggested and along what lines for a more reasonable settlement.