Massive reparations to black farmers for discrimination in federal loans

Meaning, of course, that many black farmers applied for federal loans for which they were not qualified, and the resulting lower rates of loans for blacks as compared with loans for whites is now attributed to racial discrimination, for which the blacks are entitled to damages. Under liberalism, the discrimination that exists in nature is attributed to man, or, rather, it’s attributed to the Man.

Vincent Chiarello writes:

The Washington Post is reporting on its front page (Feb. 19) that the Obama Administration has approved a payment to black farmers, “for decades that the Agriculture Department discriminated against them in loan programs.” The sum involved is $1.25 billion (no typo).

The settlement is based on complaints by black farmers that “justice” required that they be compensated for the past performance by Department of Agriculture officials to deny or “slow pedal” loan applications, which resulted in the loss of farms of black farmers. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with other Cabinet officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, are urging Congress to appropriate the money for the settlement. The president chimed in by saying that the money allocated would “[bring] these long ignored claims of African American farmers to a rightful conclusion.” To confirm the appropriateness of the agreement, The Post trotted out two representatives of the Congressional Black Caucus to applaud the decision. What is not mentioned by The Post is that Black Caucus members constitute the overwhelming number of congressmen currently under investigation for unethical practices. None of this should come as a surprise, but what may raise an eyebrow or two is the assumption that this will put an end to the deliberate effort by this administration to reward blacks or any other “aggrieved” group a substantial monetary reward at national expense.

The black farmers’ settlement is the beginning, not the end, of this process: since 1997, Hispanic, female, and Native American farmers have also sued the government, and a similar agreement in those cases is expected shortly. Each of these groups claims the same governmental discrimination against them in the loan process, and, as a result, the subsequent loss of farm lands. I have no doubt that a financial agreement will be reached with them, but for those who think that this will be the end of the line, think again. In 1999, the Clinton Administration paid $1 billion (no typo) to black farmers, “but communications errors led to some farmers being omitted from that settlement.” So the payment to black farmers is, truthfully, $2.25 billion, putting a lie to the president’s claim that the charge was a long ignored.” Anyone who expects even the slightest dissent from or opposition to the settlement by GOP lawmakers is delusional.

This administration has, from the outset, decided on a course that will allow the widest range of U.S. governmental support, especially financial, to blacks as part of “returning the wealth of American to its rightful owners.” This settlement to black farmers, which more than doubles the first made a decade earlier, is just another part of the mosaic, as is the failure to investigate alleged black intimidation of white voters near Philadelphia during the presidential election. There is no end to what this administration can, and will, do to bring about greater racial polarization, which many on the Right knew would happen.

What must never be misunderstood or underestimated is the extent to which this administration is committed to economic redistribution. The forces at play here are the legacy of a liberal mindset that has dominated much of government since the 1960s, and posits that all of white society is guilty of any and all crimes against blacks, Hispanics and any other aggrieved groups. This settlement is just another stop along the road to further concession, and it must be stopped, for it presages societal disaster.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 26, 2010 01:09 PM | Send