this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2024
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[โ€“] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I honestly don't understand what all the resistance against these concessions are. Sure, in dollar terms it's sizable, but reparations don't need to be in dollar terms: they can be given through economic concessions that stimulate the economy as a whole.

For example, First Nations land within cities can be given zoning concessions to simultaneously address the Canadian housing crisis and drive profit to First Nations. First Nations businesses can be given greater tax concessions for R&D. The Canadian government can use its liabilities as a blank cheque to invest in anything, so long as First Nations people are the ones who profit from it.

[โ€“] assaultpotato 7 points 11 months ago

Because when the average person hears "the government owes x Billion Dollars" the assumption is "they will be handing over X billion in cash". It's like the Ukraine military support - people hear "3 billion USD in military aid for Ukraine" and think the US is handing over 3 billion dollars, not handing over about 3 billion worth of old soon-to-be-retired equipment.

Which makes conversations about government debt really fun. It's just a lack of understanding.