A sugary-drinks tax for pre-K education? Flawed, but worth doing

While I agree with much of what John E. Hayes said in his My View (“Troubling truths surround proposed sugary-drinks tax,” March 19), I strongly take issue with his implied conclusion.

First, he faults the city for measures it took to tighten its belt last year and says these cuts should be reversed before taking on any new service obligations. As someone who was in the room where it happened when much of last year’s sausage of a budget was being made, I agree that pool hours and library staff should be restored. I agree that our parking mess should be rethought. I saw how millions in taxpayer dollars were misspent while these and other valuable public services were cut.

However, saying the city should never take on new tasks until the city budget is rational dooms us to perpetual delay. It turns our government into stone.

Secondly, Hayes argues that the sugary-drinks tax, if it is successful in its goal of reducing sugary-drink consumption, will not reach its other goal of funding pre-K. Santa Fe needs to fund pre-K to attract businesses by having a healthy, educated workforce. Everyone agrees pre-K is good for Santa Fe. Denying a bottle of water to a person in the desert because it is not enough to sustain that person for a long time is not humane. To say this revenue source should not be used because it may diminish over time is a weak argument. Yes, other monies may be needed for pre-K later, but as English writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” Pre-K education is worth doing.

Finally, although I’m not sure how relevant it is, I totally agree that private contractors or nonprofit contractors should not administer this program. I agree it should be the civil service. Public programs for the public good should be administered publicly, not by for-profit entities, like private prisons, or by nonprofit entities with high administrative costs and high executive salaries, like some hospitals. Neither form can be relied upon to focus on the public good. A civil service, because its mission statement is more congruent with the aim of public good, and because it uses the means of fair wages and benefits for its employees, is more likely to accomplish the public purpose of pre-K education. It should be more transparent and accountable.

But any process managed by human beings has flaws, including the civil service. This does not mean we should do nothing: To paraphrase Chesterton, the perfect is the enemy of the good. Taxing sugary drinks for pre-K education is good. The method will be flawed, whichever is selected, because it will be human.

Anne Albrink is a retired lawyer living in Santa Fe.