3 ms·

Philadelphia's Soda Tax Just Killed a Grocery Store

4 points by MagicPropmaker 8y ago

HarryHirsch 8y ago
That assertion - that the soda tax killed a small supermarket in West Philly - doesn't sound remotely plausible. Even if soda sales dropped, non-alcoholic beverages aren't high-markup items, the lunch counter and the magazine aisle is where profit is made. A retailer doesn't lose too much profit if soda sales drop (apparently sales did drop, Reason concedes that the tax was a success). Apart from that, the article is suspiciously scant on details. On the other hand, obesity, especially childhood obesity, is a massive public health problem, and the costs on the public purse are immense. If the Philadelphia soda tax manages to put a dent into that problem, one can easily live with one Shoprite less.
- Tommah 8y ago
  It sounds as though sales of everything dropped, not just soda sales. If you have a choice of two mostly equivalent stores at which to do your shopping, and if soda is on your shopping list, you would prefer the store that doesn't have to tack an extra $1 on to each bottle of soda.
  - HarryHirsch 8y ago
    Looking at the map, there's a surprising number of supermarkets within a one-mile radius. You find an Aldi just up the road, two Save-a-Lot's, a Freshgrocer, nevermind the abundance of corner stores. You'd think they depend on foot traffic, which is less likely to decamp across the city limit to Upper Darby. I still think there are other factors at play. The Inquirer has data that per-capita income dropped substantially from 1999 to 2013, and it was always poor: http://media.philly.com/storage/special_projects/income_and_poverty_in_the_philadelphia_region.html http://media.philly.com/storage/special_projects/income_and_... You also think that it's corner stores that would be more affected by the soda tax because soda is a larger percentage of sales, yet Reason rolls out the Shoprite.
- CrowFly 8y ago
  Why don't we tax obesity?

3 ms·

Philadelphia's Soda Tax Just Killed a Grocery Store

4 points by MagicPropmaker 8y ago

HarryHirsch 8y ago
That assertion - that the soda tax killed a small supermarket in West Philly - doesn't sound remotely plausible. Even if soda sales dropped, non-alcoholic beverages aren't high-markup items, the lunch counter and the magazine aisle is where profit is made. A retailer doesn't lose too much profit if soda sales drop (apparently sales did drop, Reason concedes that the tax was a success). Apart from that, the article is suspiciously scant on details. On the other hand, obesity, especially childhood obesity, is a massive public health problem, and the costs on the public purse are immense. If the Philadelphia soda tax manages to put a dent into that problem, one can easily live with one Shoprite less.
- Tommah 8y ago
  It sounds as though sales of everything dropped, not just soda sales. If you have a choice of two mostly equivalent stores at which to do your shopping, and if soda is on your shopping list, you would prefer the store that doesn't have to tack an extra $1 on to each bottle of soda.
  - HarryHirsch 8y ago
    Looking at the map, there's a surprising number of supermarkets within a one-mile radius. You find an Aldi just up the road, two Save-a-Lot's, a Freshgrocer, nevermind the abundance of corner stores. You'd think they depend on foot traffic, which is less likely to decamp across the city limit to Upper Darby. I still think there are other factors at play. The Inquirer has data that per-capita income dropped substantially from 1999 to 2013, and it was always poor: http://media.philly.com/storage/special_projects/income_and_poverty_in_the_philadelphia_region.html http://media.philly.com/storage/special_projects/income_and_... You also think that it's corner stores that would be more affected by the soda tax because soda is a larger percentage of sales, yet Reason rolls out the Shoprite.
- CrowFly 8y ago
  Why don't we tax obesity?