“Citigroup researchers determined that systemic racism has cost this country $800 billion since 2000. Wait, sorry, that’s $800 billion per year.”
Rapper Ice Cube has been making headlines (and staking his reputation in a game of cutthroat political poker) for his involvement with the Trump administration to work out the details of his Contract With Black America that has since been rebranded the “Platinum Plan.” The deal would offer what is effectively a $500 billion reparations platform for Black Americans. The problem? That amount falls severely short of what systemic racism has cost the country every year, according to recent Citigroup research that explores the economic cost of black inequality in the U.S. “Cube is promising votes he can’t deliver for money he’s unlikely to get for change it can’t cover,” writes Scott Woods in LEVEL. “In poker, that means someone called your bluff.” It’s a tough sell.
