How's the sugary drink tax working out? (Philadelphia, Montgomery: purchases, living in)

[2002 Subaru]

Originally Posted by timeEd32

This would have been a good post if you stopped there. The rest of it is absolute drivel.

It's a shame you feel that way, but these people need to get their priorities straight.


"Education, education, education!" ... How about if they develop a work ethic?

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

It's a shame you feel that way, but these people need to get their priorities straight.


"Education, education, education!" ... How about if they develop a work ethic?

What if education was part of developing a work ethic? Like a work ethic to do schoolwork?

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

What if education was part of developing a work ethic? Like a work ethic to do schoolwork?

Some of the people you speak of DO have a work ethic. It's just that they put it in service of an activity society (or a segment of it) frowns upon. Give them a legit alternative and they will make the connection:

Now he slings ice cream, instead of cocaine; ShopRite finds talent in former drug dealers | Philly.com

Read how the employee featured in the article describes moving mac and cheese in much the same terms he describes moving rock.

Besides showcasing Jeff Brown, the best and most socially conscious supermarket operator in this (or maybe any other) metropolitan region, this article also buttresses my opinion that marijuana should be legalized and the street dealers given a way to enter the legit distribution system. They ARE businesspeople, just ones who operate in a high-risk industry whose rewards are not commensurate with the risks. The parallel with Prohibition is exact, IMO.

I think this article also demonstrates that the bigger problem remains prejudice and bigotry - including "the soft bigotry of low expectations." I've heard tales repeatedly of people who automatically peg school children into low-achievement tracks before they even have a chance to prove that's all they are cut out for. People will live up - or down - to the expectations we set for them.

[HappyRider]

Phew! For a while, I thought this tax wouldn't work. Silly me! The city just announced it's working like a charm. They raised $6.5m with this soda ban. Next target: Big Mac

[Debbie1125]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Pepsi isn't going to sell two litres in the city anymore. A win-win. Kids getting the attention they need and people drinking less sugar water

People will keep going outside the city to buy the taxable beverages. I haven't paid a cent towards this tax because I shop in Montgomery county.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Debbie1125

People will keep going outside the city to buy the taxable beverages. I haven't paid a cent towards this tax because I shop in Montgomery county.

Cool, congrats.

It's alright, I understand, the prospect of giving a couple dollars so children can have a better life is too much for certain people. If you're in Montco then buy there. If someone goes out of their way to avoid paying the cent and a half then their foolish.

As the numbers came out today, it can be said the soda tax is working well above projections so far.

[HappyRider]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Cool, congrats.

It's alright, I understand, the prospect of giving a couple dollars so children can have a better life is too much for certain people. If your in Montco then buy there. If someone goes out of their way to avoid paying the cent and a half then their foolish.

As the numbers came out today, it can be said the soda tax is working well above projections so far.

How do you know that? They claim the program has generated $6.5m in revenues, but that is not the whole picture. I need pre and post sales figures so I can compute the net revenues myself. If there is a decline in sales, that affects the sales tax they would have collected. Is that taken into account? But you are too anxious to accept it as a winning program to ask for details. Oh, and that why-do-you-hate-the-children line is pretty worn out.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by upenna47

The issue is over time people will see a huge difference in how much they are spending on sugary drinks. Those couple of bucks you mention start to add up on a monthly basis.

Of course. Its certainly a debate. As I have stated before, people who don't have the means to leave the city have two choices: support the pre k program or don't drink it. It is what it is. Philadelphia is broke. New programs require new revenue streams. We can't sit back and let north/west philly keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Putting children in an environment where they play together and have rules set into them at the earliest possible time is more important, imo, then a penny and half per ounce of sugar water.

[timeEd32]

I saw someone in a Lower Merion grocery store the other day with an entire shopping cart overflowing with all different kinds of soda, mostly 12 pack cans. I can only assume they live in Philly (or drink a disgusting amount of soda).

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

How do you know that? They claim the program has generated $6.5m in revenues, but that is not the whole picture. I need pre and post sales figures so I can compute the net revenues myself. If there is a decline in sales, that affects the sales tax they would have collected. Is that taken into account? But you are too anxious to accept it as a winning program to ask for details. Oh, and that why-do-you-hate-the-children line is pretty worn out.

So I have read hundreds of your far right wing posts before. We aren't going to agree. No one cares if Pepsi lost money. The city made "budget projections" to meet the finianical obligations of the program. So far they have met the projections. I feel like you aren't understanding that examining y-over-y sales is literally meaningless.