Wine drinkers should tax tofu, or move to Philly
As a community activist for over 30 years in Santa Fe, I want to reach out to the people of our state about taxing beverages, food, etc. The mayor of Santa Fe, Javier Gonzales, and the City Council, with the exception of Councilor Ron Trujillo, walked out as I spoke in opposition to this regressive tax — which I believe will have a domino effect on our state if it passes the election on May 2 in Santa Fe. They not only walked out on me, they walked out on many people I represented that night.
A PAC committee, staunch supporters who helped elect the mayor, are relentless about imposing this tax. Bribery became the first of several strategies to get a “yes” vote: They announced that they were giving tacos for the first 400 voters. They are canvassing door to door; they are doing fancy — I’m sure expensive — mail-outs; they are calling businesses who oppose this tax and telling them they hate kids; they are calling people at work, (including) a state government employee, to solicit a “yes” vote; they helped set up church groups to discuss and support the tax and to discuss the moral issues of this tax; (and) a city (councilor) is using insulting, disrespectful words toward opposition on social media.
Imposing this tax on soda will cause employees of the distributors to lose their jobs (and) restaurants will lose money (by not) serving sugary drinks; the effect it will have on our economy will eventually hurt our tax base. They have raised over $500,000 to support their “yes” cause, but have not been transparent on who has donated or funded their cause. However, the locals and natives are standing up and ready to have their voices heard at the polls — all two of them.
A grassroots revolution against this tax for a city-run pre-K, which is not even our responsibility, is taking place and running strong. The people of Santa Fe feel they should not be taxed for something that is not the responsibility of the city. What will they tax us on next? Many of the supporters say they don’t drink sugary drinks, so that means they won’t be contributing to the tax base (of) which they may benefit if the have pre-K(age) children. To tax only a certain faction of the community I feel is discriminating. What can we tax those (who do not drink sugary beverages) on? I suggested tofu, because many of the supporters are those healthy vegetarian kind of people. Also, I feel that it is none of their business what we choose to eat or drink. We don’t tell them they are too skinny or that they drink too much wine, which is a sugary drink. But that’s OK, it’s healthy according to them.
We need other city services which have been ignored and should be prioritized. Leave the pre-K to the state or feds. The mayor has political aspirations and may need a notch on his belt. Fine, but not at the expense by putting the burden on the people who elected him mayor. Beware of the domino effect of regressive taxes such as this in your own cities. Our mayor and City Council want sugar taxes like Philadelphia has done. If they want to follow Philadelphia, then they should move over there. This is New Mexico, nuestra tierra! To my community: Vote “no” on the sugar tax.