Benefits of soda tax
After months of debate, compromise and consideration of a number of different proposals, City Council passed Mayor Kenney’s amended sugary drinks tax by an overwhelming majority. I voted yes, and here’s why: I truly believe that, as a city and community, we have a duty to set our children up for success.
The 6th District is home to almost 10 percent of the city’s total 3- and 4-year-old population, but our community has only four high-quality, four-star pre-k facilities. Those four top-tier early learning programs can’t serve all of the nearly 4,000 children in the Northeast. However, the almost $200 million in revenue that will be generated over five years from the sugary drinks tax will create much-needed pre-k seats in our neighborhoods by helping providers improve the quality of education they administer and by adding seats to existing high-quality programs.
And, studies show that high-quality early education improves grade-level reading, in-class performance and high school graduation rates, in addition to helping children develop the social, emotional and cognitive skills needed for school success. The more children who have a great start in school, the more children who will grow up to be contributing adults to our city.
The 6th District is also home to more than 30 parks and recreation centers. During my first term, my office, working with Parks and Recreation, spent $7 million on improvements to some of these locations. That money barely put a dent in the list of projects that need to be completed so that our recreation centers and parks can be safe places to play, exercise and learn. Rebuild, Mayor Kenney’s ambitious plan to overhaul Philadelphia’s community infrastructure at parks, recreation centers and libraries, will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in capital improvements, like new roofs and heating and cooling systems, and it will also allow the city to bring buildings up to code with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
My decision to support this tax is rooted in my commitment to the 6th District, its residents and their future. From creating jobs, which expanded pre-k and Rebuild will do, to providing opportunities for our children to succeed, the value of the sugary drinks tax supersedes the cost. I believe that this legislation is a true compromise. It will allow us to put our kids first, while reducing the impact on your pocketbook. Rebuild, community schools and expanded pre-k is the way forward; it is the opportunity Philadelphia needs to grow, thrive and change for the better.
Councilman Bobby Henon
6th District
Philadelphia, stop voting for Democrats
After flapping their mouths about being against the tax, the liars in Council showed what their word is worth once again.
The Dem incumbents give the working-class people of Philly a hardy finger and a “tough crap” to you. With all their outcries about the overweight and pre-K, they went ahead and taxed diet drinks, too. Finance director Rob Dubow said that some of the tax revenue would also go toward the city’s fund balance and not toward funding pre-K. Read that as refill the coffers they like to raid to get a nice fat DROP check before going back to work the next day. We have an already-failing school system in Philly that is understaffed and under-budgeted and has a dropout rate of over 34 percent.
We really need to be taxed even more so 4-year-olds can go finger paint at what boils down to a city-funded babysitting service and slush fund for pundits on a retirement program they were never meant to be on. Remember the tax homestead exemption to make it look like we were getting a break and how fast they raised property taxes to get a slice of that back?
We need to impeach and throw every last one of these crooked leeches out of office, but it’ll never happen in a city that is so apathetic it has elected the same type for the last three generations.
Sixty-four years of Dem rule in the third-poorest city in America because idiots push a button for them like well-trained dogs. Personally, I’ll take all my food shopping outside the city; what’s a few extra blocks for a drive, anyhow. Those who voted these cretins in can pay up.
Hezakiah Levinson
Rhawnhurst
Language barrier
Carlos Perez writes that he wishes everyone would speak English who lives in Northeast Philadelphia.
Really, Carlos, this is what you care about? You live in a city with high murder rates, pitiful infrastructure, politicians who care only how much power they have, and this is what bothers you, the language people speak. Carlos, you have a serious problem.
Joe Orenstein
Southampton
