Philadelphia Becomes First Major City To Pass A Soda Tax
By Tyler Durden
While not quite as draconian as the soda ban which former NYC billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg tried (and failed) to pass in New York in 2014, moments ago the the Philadelphia City Council approved a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, the first such tax imposed in a major U.S. city. The reason? The Council is looking to raise about $91 million for an expansion of early childhood education. Instead, the money will most likely be siphoned off into various underground ventures (and bank accounts) or outright embezzled.
.@CouncilwomanBRB‘s healthy beverage tax credit has also passed. 17-0 #PHLbudget #PHLCouncil
— PHLCouncil (@PHLCouncil) June 16, 2016
As a reminder, three years ago Michael Bloomberg pushed to ban oversize sodas in New York, a campaign which was ultimately rejected by the New York Court of appeals. The Philadelphia approach was less terminal, and ultimately promised revenues to the city, which is why it passed in a 13-4 vote this afternoon. The vote put to bed months of speculation and at-times tense negotiations, but also ensured the national spotlight will stay turned to Philadelphia for months, if not years, to come.
Philadelphia officials have been pushing for such measures for years,
pointing out that sugary drinks help fuel the epidemics of obesity,
diabetes and heart disease that affect more Americans every year. Yet oddly enough, any pretense that his tax is aimed the curbing the “dangers of sugar” or obesity dangers linked to soft drink evaporated when diet drinks were added to the mix.
The liberal bastion of Berkeley is the only other city that has such a tax, however Philly is the first major city to adopt a drink tax.
Critics – mostly the big soda companies – quickly vowed to fight it in court. And as Mayor Kenney rolls out the unprecedented levy -and its economic and public health impacts come into view – experts, advocates and legislators will surely be watching closely.
“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of educators, parents, rec center volunteers and so many others, Philadelphia made a historic investment in our neighborhoods and in our education system today,” Kenney said in a statement after the vote. “Today would not have been possible without everyone coming together in support of a fair future for every zipcode.”
Kennedy added that “all the times it was tried before for health reasons, we failed,” he said. “It failed in New York because of the health argument.” People resent the “nanny-state attitude,” he added.
Perhaps the people are right.
“We want to expand pre-K to 10,000 slots in the next four years, we want to create 25 community schools within our neighborhoods to that people can go to the schools and get the services they need for their kids, both medical , social, psychological and other types of job training and educational opportunities for adults,” Kenney told NBC News.
Not so fast: the tax will hit thousands of products, essentially anything bottled, canned or from a fountain with either …read more
Source: Philadelphia Becomes First Major City To Pass A Soda Tax
