I see them as separate issues: 1) artificial poverty, and 2) organic poverty. I believe the latter is in many cases unfair as well, as there’s compounding advantage and compounding disadvantage at play, but while we should fight against that, it’s basically fighting against an unavoidable social dynamic.

In the case of the artificial poverty forced onto Black Americans, that’s more of a situation of “you broke it, you fix it.” There are very clear moral principles that demand our intervention.

I agree; it’s definitely a divisive issue. And I think some of my own reasoning may have been influenced by an implicit understanding of just how much opposition any push for reparations would face. I might have otherwise boldly written that, “The only right answer is to give reparations, and fiat justitia et pereat mundus.” But I believe the counter principle of not being born indebted for wrongdoing that preceded us is true as well, so that works to moderate things.