Pre-K needs a reliable funding source, not a punitive tax
Santa Feans agree our city would benefit greatly from an expansion of highquality pre-kindergarten for young children. But it’s important that we get the program right, by funding it with a reliable revenue stream that doesn’t target the pocketbooks of the poor and won’t harm small-business owners who provide the jobs our families rely on for their livelihoods.
Mayor Javier Gonzales’ support for a massive tax on beverages to fund a citywide expansion of pre-K will cause prices on hundreds of everyday beverages to skyrocket. A tax in Philadelphia that went into effect Jan. 1 caused prices at grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants to jump 100 percent or more in some cases. On some beverages, the tax is more than the cost of the product.
This kind of regressive tax places a larger share of the tax burden on residents least capable of paying it. Many people will not be able to afford the soft drinks, teas, sports drinks and flavored waters that they have always enjoyed. Those who can avoid the tax will do so by shopping for their beverages at grocery stores outside of the city, or eating out at restaurants just over the line to save on the check.
When this happens, our local businesses will lose sales — and that comes at a cost in jobs and employee hours. The people who work in Santa Fe stores and restaurants that depend on beverage sales for a portion of their business will see their incomes go down.
What’s worse, a beverage tax will jeopardize the very pre-K programs we would like to see expanded in Santa Fe. Revenues from the tax will continually decrease as people find ways to avoid paying it, or cut back on their beverage purchases to save money. In a year or two, the city would be back looking for another source of revenue to make up for the loss.
A permanent program like pre-K deserves a sustainable, reliable funding source. That means settling on a broadbased revenue source that does not hammer one item in the grocery cart.
Which brings us to another problem with the mayor’s proposal: Why are we rushing into this? Mayor Gonzales’ plan is to have this before voters in a special one-question referendum in May. That leaves little time for people to review the issue and it’s likely that few voters will turn out for such an extraordinary vote.
Santa Feans should be given a proper amount of time to consider what kind of pre-K program is best for the city. Residents were presented with a fully baked proposal and given no chance to offer opinions on how the program should work before it was written up and put forward by the mayor. A program like pre-K should have been the subject of hearings and public discussion before it was written.
Santa Feans would like to know whether this program would duplicate the ongoing state-funded pre-K efforts administered by the New Mexico Public Education Department and pre-K provided by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, or the federal Head Start program. The state has been increasing funding for these programs, so does Santa Fe need to jump in with a new tax for a city-run program?
And don’t we want to properly investigate how this tax will affect those who will bear its burden and suffer its consequences? It appears the mayor drew off the advice of advocates for his proposal, but did not meet with the many analysts, economists and Santa Fe small-business owners who can attest to the negative effects this tax will have on our local economy.
Early childhood education should not be forced through on a quick vote. It’s too important for that. And we should have a program that everyone in the community will get behind, one that will ensure our children’s futures without hurting our local economy or the hardworking families of Santa Fe.