The White House and Congress agreed overnight to a record $2 trillion stimulus package to bail out the American economy from its free fall as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But while the economic rescue package was expected — and eagerly welcomed — some Black people were openly wondering on social media how the U.S. was able to come up with so much money so quickly after repeatedly stalling attempts to broach the topic of reparations for descendants of slaves in America.

Maybe now might be the time to bring up reparations since they talking bout finally doing right for the people. — Brandino🤙🏾 (@BreakingBrando_) March 25, 2020

To be sure, comparing the coronavirus bailout and reparations for slavery is far from apples-to-apples. But it seems the larger point of the timing of the reparations debate resurfacing was the sense of urgency exhibited by Capitol Hill’s fast-acting coronavirus legislation versus the lack thereof when it comes to legislative efforts toward compensating slaves’ descendants.

All these bailouts and shit literally shows, Reparations to Black Americans are possible. No way around that conversation now. — DUTCHSELF (@BurgBassNJ) March 25, 2020

If reparations and the bailout package had anything in common, it’s that they both would aim to help stop existential threats to Americans — both physically and economically. Coronavirus is killing Americans and the stimulus package includes $130 billion for hospitals to address the shortfall of equipment needed to treat patients. Conversely, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker in April introduced reparations legislation that he said also has vastly negative implications for the future of the country if it isn’t confronted immediately.

For the advocates of reparations. Should Chinese Americans have to repay other Americans for the what the #coronavirus has caused? Or does the fact that they never lived in China and had nothing to do with it play a factor? #coronavirus #COVID2019 #ChineseVirus — 🇺🇸B. Parson 🇺🇸 (@BParsonPNW) March 25, 2020

“I’ve been unapologetic in my belief that this can’t just be about acknowledging the past,” Booker tweeted on the same day he introduced in the Senate a companion version of a House bill introduced by Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to form a commission to explore reparations. “It needs to be about actually confronting racist policy that persists right now in the present. Because if we don’t, we cannot guarantee that our future will be any different than our past.”

No study was needed? They can't afford to pay reparations to the people's descendants they stole. #WednesdayWisdom 🤔 https://t.co/DIJZrMTGzi — Whitney🇺🇸 (@WhitneyFurr1) March 25, 2020

Again, this is only legislation to form a committee to explore what exactly reparations would look like — not legislation to immediately offer financial payouts to descendants of slaves. And still, the legislation that was first introduced (and repeatedly reintroduced) by former Michigan Rep. John Conyers nearly 30 years ago has gone nowhere quickly.

These mfs just pulled 2 trillion out they ass but black people can’t get no mfn reparations — CARTAGENA (@itsmyBANGsss) March 25, 2020

Of course, public physical health does not depend on reparations, as it does so direly with the coronavirus. That more than explains the expedited stimulus package this time around. Mental health, however, may be another story as some folks might find it mindblowing that “the notion of compensating freed slaves has been around since at least the Civil War,” John Torpey, Presidential Professor of Sociology and History, Graduate Center, City University of New York, reminded readers in a piece he wrote about the history of calls for reparations in America.

Where are the trillions of dollars in reparations??? — Photographer & Creative Director (@youngpeete) March 25, 2020

The stimulus package would give most Americans a one-time $1,200 payment each in addition to $500 for each child during a time when Americans — up to 74 percent of whom live check-to-check — were losing jobs at an alarming rate after non-essential businesses were forced to close their doors in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. But as of Wednesday morning, it was still not being transparently announced where the government was getting this money from, let alone the other hundreds of billions of dollars in the stimulus package. None of the reports announcing the deal in the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Associated Press made mention of where the $2 trillion was coming from. Did it just come from the U.S. Treasury? Is it really that simple? The answer is unclear.

For those who asked, “Where are they going to find money for #reparations?”

And for the, “Not my tax dollars” people…

Look at how much the government found this week. pic.twitter.com/3e6aYKmjUz — Has Faith (@SimoneJoyeEford) March 25, 2020

The logic is that if the government can make $2 trillion appear so quickly, then surely it can do the same for descendants of slaves with the same apparent absence of worry about further inflating an already record-high national deficit. That is, if the American government really takes the topic of reparations seriously. So far, all indications have been that it doesn’t.

It's interesting how America is 23 + TRILLION DOLLARS in debt (actually over 60 trillion if you add in medical, Medicaid etc; ) Yet can locate Billions,TRILLIONS to rectify issues…. EXCEPT reparations for slavery..🙄 Yet Israel gets 6+ BILLION every YEAR from America. #COVID19 — Hitem With Truth (@HitemWith) March 25, 2020

However, there is one aspect of the reparations debate that has made it a bit tougher to realize: who exactly would be compensated. Is it only descendants of slaves or is it also all Black people who have had to endure the country’s structural anti-Black racism that serves as an undeniably lasting legacy for slavery itself?

If we do receive money from the stimulus they will try to deceive us into believing these are our reparations. #B1 #NeverForget — The Reparations Film (@FilmReparations) March 25, 2020

The ADOS movement — short for American Descendants Of Slavery — has drawn a decisive (and divisive) line in the sand for who does and doesn’t qualify for reparations. The group cited research from University of Illinois economist Larry Neal to determine “that between the years of 1620-1840, minus the cost of maintenance (medical, food, housing) descendants of slaves in America were owed $1.4 trillion. Using an interest rate of 5%, that’s a total of $8.4 trillion in today’s money just in lost wages.” According to Census statistics, Black people make up 13.4 percent of the American population, or about 44 million people. That equals to about $190,000 each that ADOS said should “not be paid out to black Americans at large, but would instead go specifically to the progeny of victims of American chattel slavery and the oppressions that followed, such as Jim Crow.”

This $1,200 is the closest the acronym ducks are getting to reparations so I hope they enjoy them tangibles. — Stefan Grant | Realtor® 🚀🏁 (@STEFisDOPE) March 25, 2020

Under those guidelines, that effectively rules out a whole lot of Black folks in America who might feel like they, too, rightfully deserve reparations because of the structural obstacles in society that prevent them from ascending the ladder of success as quickly as their non-Black counterparts.

It's annoying that Congress can approve trillions of dollars for 'stimulus' plans for Wall Street but the idea of reparations for slavery is just too insane. — Echo Chamber (@EchoChamberer) March 25, 2020

As with most things, it’s not that simple. But optics and perception are everything. The government would be shamed on an international stage had it not acted so swiftly in the wake of the coronavirus. However, with the value on Black lives not at a premium around the world, let alone here in the U.S., America has seemed to feel like it can ignore calls for reparations without any real global repercussions.

Dont get me started on Reparations. Terrible people, all of em https://t.co/z4TUsansnK — Basil Mcpherson (@Basilmack1) March 25, 2020

It’s complicated.

$2 Trillion after also spending $1.5 trillion to stimulate the market…..tell me again why black ppl couldn’t get reparations?…Explain it to me like I’m 5 bc all this money “they didn’t have for it” is suddenly available. pic.twitter.com/m1unEOWKg3 — J. Shamir (@WitYoLo_okinAss) March 25, 2020

In the meantime, scroll down to see what folks on social media have to say about the massive bailout as calls for reparations are largely met with deaf ears.