This is fiscal prudence, mind you, not racism

Mike at TopDog04 spotted this one

Understand what has happened. And do it with no further comment from me because the comments would not be pleasant.

Victory Slipping Away for Black Farmers

The Department of Agriculture has denied payments to almost 90 percent of black farmers who sought compensation for discrimination under a landmark court settlement the agency reached with African American growers five years ago, according to a report set for release today by a Washington-based environmental group.

A two-year investigation by the Environmental Working Group found that USDA officials contracted Justice Department lawyers to aggressively fight the farmers' claims after the settlement of the $3 billion class-action lawsuit. Of the 94,000 growers who sought restitution for discrimination in a process set up by the court, 81,000 were turned away, the report says.

The report, funded by the Ford Foundation, said the USDA's actions "willfully obstructed justice" and "deliberately undermined" the spirit of the settlement....

Posted by Prometheus 6 on July 20, 2004 - 11:32am :: Race and Identity
 
 

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If my math is right, they brought a $3 billion settlement down to under $700 million. All that hard Justice Department work, probably netted an extra quarter point off the capital gains rate. At least Bush&Co have their priorities straight.

Posted by  Mike (not verified) on July 21, 2004 - 2:02pm.