Statement by Donna Cooper, Executive Director of PCCY,
On the Proposal for a Container Tax
While it’s encouraging to note overwhelming support from City Council for high quality Pre-K, an agreement on the means to fund it and other anti-poverty and community-strengthening strategies has yet to be reached. The proposed soda tax remains the most viable, progressive and certainly the most scrutinized solution on the table, hailed by economists and health and public policy experts as the best path forward for Philadelphia.
But this is the time for debate and we commend Council President Darrell Clarke and now Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown for their respective proposals. However, like President Clarke’s alternatives, Councilwoman Brown’s proposal for a tax on drink containers would raise less than what our children need.
Raising $30 million less than what the tax on sugary drinks would generate, the container tax would leave out thousands of children from quality pre-K, and underfund the plan for 25 community schools and the rebuilding of the City’s parks, recreation centers and libraries.
Council should support the tax as proposed by the Mayor as it is a tax that will largely be paid by the consumers who can afford it and will improve the lives of more of the City’s poorest children.
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