The United States Federal Government ought to pay reparations to African Americans.

It is difficult to deny the effects of past policies on African Americans today. However, the Affirmative"s call for monetary reparations will do little to resolve these problems and leaves all the underlying justifications in place. Therefore, I strongly negate the resolution and stand resolved, The United States Federal Government ought NOT to pay reparations to African Americans. Definitions: Reparations " monetary awards to people who have personally, or whose ancestors have been wronged or targeted. They are awarded as compensation for previous wrongs done to a population. Justification 1: There is no statistical evidence exist for harms left over from slavery or who would get reparations David Horowitz, founder of The David Horowitz Freedom Center, January 03, 2001, "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks is a Bad Idea for Blacks - and Racist Too," Front Page M"""""agazine, . http://archive.frontpagemag.com..., Accessed 7/5/2014 Quote, "No evidence-based attempt has been made to prove that living individuals have been adversely affected by a slave system that was ended over 150 years ago. But there is plenty of evidence the hardships that occurred were hardships that individuals could and did overcome. " MPK: All hardships left over from slavery CAN and WERE overcome. There is no evidence that proves that any African Americans have been greatly affected by a slave system that was demolished over 150 years ago. Justification 2: There"s no way to determine victims and most Americans weren"t here during slavery Walter E. Williams, Ph. D. , John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, June 18, 2014, "Slavery Reparations," Townhall, . http://townhall.com..., Accessed 7/13/2014 Quote, "There"s another moral or fairness issue. Most of today"s Americans don"t even go back three or four generations as American citizens. During slavery, some free blacks purchased other blacks as a means to free family members. But other blacks owned slaves for the same reason whites owned slaves " to work farms or plantations. Are descendants of these slaveholding blacks eligible for and deserving of reparations? " MPK: Some African Americans had purchased other African Americans to do the same thing Americans had done, to work farms and plantations. How can we tell if an African American deserves reparation? Justification 3: No criteria exist to determine who pays and who should receive reparations Tom Condon, Staff Writer, March 28, 2002, "Reparations For Slavery A Bad Idea," The Courant, . http://articles.courant.com..., Accessed 7/12/2014 Quote, "More than 2 million Americans fought for the Union, and almost 360,000 died, to end slavery. It somehow seems unfair to dun their descendants over the very object of their sacrifice. And what of the Americans who"ve come to this country after slavery? How would a person qualify for help from the fund? What percentage of one"s ancestry would have to be African American? Would millionaire African Americans such as Michael or Oprah qualify? How about African Americans who immigrated after slavery was ended? " MPK: There are too many questions on who should pay and who should receive reparations. This makes it too chaotic to see who and who doesn"t get reparations. Justification 4: Reparations for African Americans will be followed by a new wave of racism Reparations for African Americans would generate strong backlash, and increased racism by those opposing reparations. Moreover, the government may feel less obligated to protect African Americans from discrimination because it has theoretically paid its dues. This causes greater tension with African Americans and could make things worse. Justification 5: Direct cash payment fail " welfare proves Just giving people money seldom helps to fix their problem. That"s why America"s "war on poverty" has been an utter and complete failure. After doling out more than 21 trillion dollars over the last 50 years, we"ve done nothing to reduce the poverty rate. Shortly after the War on Poverty got rolling, about 27% of Americans lived in poverty. In 2012, the last year for which data is available, the number was about 29%. In fact, it"s entirely possible that the poverty rate would be LOWER today if there had never be a "war on poverty. " You can see this same dynamic with aid to Africa. After handing out more than a trillion dollars, much of the continent has gone BACKWARDS over the last 10-15 years. Conclusion: Reparations are unnecessary and could and will make things worse for African Americans. Not only does money seldom help fix problems, they could also receive more backlash from those opposing reparations, WITHOUT the government"s help. Reparations are racist, and will cause more racism.