I know you have heard all you want to hear about "reparations" and the "legacy of slavery." However, I have a final point to make and I promise I will be brief. In fact, what follows is primarily a list; a list that will make my point for me.
Economists gauge the wealth of countries by converting such things as income, purchasing power, consumption spending and standard of living into comparable dollars. This produces a common yardstick by which one country’s wealth can be measured against the wealth of another country.
It has been estimated that, if you take the wealth, based on the above criteria, of all African Americans and put it together, they would constitute one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The usual rankings place African Americans anywhere from the 11th to the 15th wealthiest country. Let’s split the difference and make this hypothetical nation — African Americans — the 13th wealthiest nation.
The 2003 World Almanac compiled a list of the 40 wealthiest nations ranked in order of wealth, If we insert our hypothetical nation — African Americans — into its proper place, we will have the following ranking.
- United States
- China
- Japan
- India
- Germany
- France
- United Kingdom
- Italy
- Brazil
- Russia
- Mexico
- Canada
- African Americans
- South Korea
- Spain
- Indonesia
- Australia
- Argentina
- Turkey
- Iran
- Netherlands
- South Africa
- Thailand
- Taiwan
- Poland
- Philippines
- Pakistan
- Belgium
- Egypt
- Columbia
- Saudi Arabia
- Bangladesh
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- Malaysia
- Greece
- Algeria
- Portugal
This listing graphically illustrates the true legacy of slavery and it should put an end to any further discussions of reparations.
Gail Jarvis [send him mail], a CPA living in Beaufort, SC, is an advocate of the voluntary union of states established by the founders.
