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Grocer: Philly Sugary Drinks Tax Could Cost Thousands Of Jobs, Create More Poverty

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Jeff Brown, the CEO of Brown's Super Stores, blasted Philadelphia's sugary drink tax and says that it will end up hurting families by costing jobs and pushing more people into poverty.

Brown told Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that the reduced sales caused by the tax could cost thousands of people their jobs.

 

"In Philadelphia, we have a poverty problem and disparities in educational outcomes and health outcomes and a whole host of social determinants emanate from poverty. How could it possibly be it's the greater good to cause people to lose their jobs? I'm just one grocer and if you count the beverage industry and all the people that sell beverages, there's going to be thousands of people that lose their job, which is going to take them and put them from people that could pay their own bills and it's going to thrust them into poverty. They're going to be in poverty but they can send their kid to pre-day care. How are we helping that family?"

Brown also believes far too many products fall under the purview of the tax.

"A lot of people, when they think of this tax, their mind goes to soda. The truth of the matter is, the majority of beverages taxed are not soda. They're taxing almond milk. They're taxing iced tea. They're taxing, if you have flavored water that used some sort of artificial or sugar based sweetener, they're taxing that. Trop 50/50 juice, which is really an item to help you lose weight because it's half juice and half water, they're taxing that because it's 50 percent juice and you have to be all juice not to be taxed. The tax is affecting 4000 items."

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