This is John Batchler. I spoke with my colleague Bill Whelan of the Hoover Institution about Governor Newsom's initiative to form a task force in September 2020 to look at the question of reparations and other repairs for the families of California whose lives and families damaged by the legacy of slavery from the 19th century.

The report, not yet on the Governor's desk, looks to be complicated for the legislature of California because the report calls on it also to act. Bill gives us the history of how the very liberal state of California has responded to questions such as reparations, such as equality, such as affirmative action. Here's Bill. On the basis of what? I mean, all of a sudden are we going to do cost accounting or something?

Well, let's qualify liberal California, John here because another aspect of what the task force is expected to recommend legislature, John, is he want to do away with Proposition 209, which was passed in 1996, John, that added racial quotas and university admissions and public hiring.

Well, there was a ballot measure in 2020, in 2020, John Proposition 16, which sought to undermine Prop 209. It was voted down about 58% of California's voted against that. Yes, very progressive Democratic California, almost 60% of voters said no to bring it back affirmative action.

So again, this is the problematic aspect of nuisance signing off on this deal. It's just going to upset voters in all sorts of ways. So again, it's a tricky topic and don't think just because California has decidedly left a center almost all the way off the stage that it will go for pay roughness. I think the politics are far more complicated.

I'm John Batcher.