At the beginning of the year, Philadelphia became one of the few major cities to place a tax on sweetened drinks. Favorites such as soda, iced teas, and juices--all of them-- are going to cost Philadelphians a pretty penny to indulge in. While there are bigger issues at hand, this tax seems unfair and unjust and I cannot support it.

The reasoning behind this tax has raised an air of of skepticism around it for me. According to 6abc, the tax will be helping to fund community schools, recreation centers, parks and the city's library system. Supporters say it has a strong chance of helping with the obesity problem we as Americans often suffer from. I can see the logic of trying to raise more funding for school children, the Philadelphia education system has been suffering for a while. However, I can’t honestly believe that’s where the funding is going. I feel it’s just a way to tax us more without breaking the timeless laws of our Constitution.

All the money earned from the tax will most likely end up in different politicians’ pockets and make the rich richer and the poor poorer. In order for me to support this new frustrating tax, I would need to see proof of the education system improving thanks to this tax. I am not a cold-hearted person, I do not want the children of Philadelphia to go on struggling as they are.

I honestly feel that whenever a new tax is passed, children are used as the reasoning for passing it. While that may be true in certain circumstances the real truth is that it’s only hurting Philadelphia residents, who are already paying high city taxes to live here, even further. Eventually it’ll be too expensive to live in a major city like Philadelphia!

Shoppers all over Philadelphia are feeling the extra 1.5 cent per oz tax on purchases. It seems like a small increase and it is, for 16 oz and less. 20 oz sodas at the local Wawa convenience store have always been slightly more expensive, it's a convenience store, this fact is common. For a little perspective, sodas went from being $1.89 to being $2.20, their iced went from being 3 for $5 to 3 for $8, that's a significant increase and it'll end up hurting hard working families and hinder businesses.

Probably the hardest increase to grasp, is the amount 12 packs and 6 packs are going to cost now.

A customer posted a picture online of a receipt that includes the new price for a 10 pack of propel flavored water. The old price was $6.47, the Philadelphia beverage tax adds a tax of $3.04, making it a total of $9.75. That's the most shocking change and it is one that will only serve to run people out of the city to buy their drinks, which eventually will majorly affect businesses especially smaller, more local ones.

That is why I feel it would be in Philadelphia's best interest to find another way to fund the children and all of the public programs Philadelphia offers. I want to help take care of these things as much as the rest of the city but I don't want to do it by hurting the residents and businesses that make Philadelphia thrive. Money can always be made through fundraising and community projects, I vote in favor of those methods rather than more taxes, which may or may not be doubling on top of the pre-existing sales taxes.