Philly Soda Tax Layoffs Begin; Press Doesn’t Challenge City Expecting Beverage Industry Subsidy
6th March 2017
What everyone knew would happen as a result of Philadelphia’s 1.5 cents-per-ounce soda tax began materializing on Wednesday, as Pepsi announced that it would lay off roughly 20 percent of its workforce there over the next several months. Coverage at both Philly.com and Associated Press allowed the city to engage in fantasy by claiming without meaningful challenge, or even clarification, that Pepsi in particular, but clearly other beverage makers by implication, should be using profits earned elsewhere to subsidize their Philly operations.