Colin McNickle At Large

Notes on the state of things

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The fallout from Philadelphia’s tax on sugary drinks is redefining “sour.”

A new Tax Foundation study says Philly’s 1.5-cent-per-ounce impost has created a true public policy mess. It even suggests (based on prior studies) that the tax, which is 24 times the Pennsylvania excise tax rate on beer, might even have driven some consumers to more alcoholic beverage consumption.

The foundation also notes that Philadelphia’s beverage tax collections originally were promoted as a vehicle to raise money for pre-kindergarten education. “But in practice Philadelphia awards just 49 percent of the soda tax revenues to pre-K programs.”

And “poor revenue performance” – think everything from depressed soda sales to tax avoidance” – threatens the very programs the tax was designed to support.

Hundreds of jobs have been lost, too. Lawsuits claim that since the soda tax is levied against distributors, who pass on the tax to consumers, and that consumers then are taxed again when they purchase such products, it amounts to double taxation, a violation of the Sterling Act.

And so onerous has the tax proven to be, Pepsi doesn’t even bother trying to sell some of its brand products in grocery and convenience stores in Philadelphia.

“The legal battles and consumer angst the tax has attracted make the tax unattractive …,” the foundation says. “Other localities wishing to avoid these travails should seek funding for programs with broader-based, more predictable tax instruments.”

Here’s hoping any Pittsburgh officials perhaps with similar taxing designs pay heed to the Philadelphia experience instead of learning the hard way.

One cannot help but be struck by the intellectual vapidity of a protest sign at a Sunday rally in Pittsburgh following the horrific weekend violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Included in an otherwise acceptable litany of appeals for “No Racism” and “No Fascism,” among others, were entreaties for “No Capitalism” but “Yes Socialism.”

Good grief. Consider this thought, from the late, great Carnegie Mellon economist Allan Meltzer:

“Alternatives to capitalism, whether socialism, communism, fascism or some religious orthodoxies, offer some groups (a) utopian vision of mankind that becomes the one ‘right path.’ Utopian visions and orthodoxies always bring enforcement, often brutal enforcement.

“The 20th century saw many such outcomes. None achieved both higher living standards and greater individual freedom. National Socialism, Soviet and Chinese Communism instead produced mass murders of millions.

“This should have extinguished the appeal of utopian visions, but it has not,” the distinguished late scholar continued.  “Many still believe that social justice can only be achieved by ending or severely regulating capitalism. … (But) capitalism disperses and limits power while the alternatives concentrate power in a few hands.”

Tyrannical “few hands,” it must be noted.

This is not a difficult lesson to learn. History is a most adroit teacher. Why then do so many among us remain so blind to the manifest dangers of socialism?

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has nominated Jerry Oleksiak, the president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (the powerful teachers’ union), to be the next secretary of the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Oleksiak, a longtime special education teacher and union boss, appears to have no experience pertinent to the job.

That is, unless the administration plans to change the name of the department to the Pennsylvania Department of Organized Labor.

Ahem.

Colin McNickle is a senior fellow and media specialist at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).

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Colin McNickle
Colin McNickle

Colin received his B.G.S. from Ohio University. The 40-year journalism veteran joined the Institute in October 2016. That followed a 22-year career with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 18 as director of editorial pages for Trib Total Media. Prior that, Colin had a long and varied career in media — from radio, newspapers and magazines, to United Press International and The Associated Press.

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