If you thought City Council members were a little tipsy when they decided that Philadelphians would prefer increased property taxes in lieu of a pennies-per-fluid-ounce price hike on soda as a source of funding to plug the School District’s gaping financial wound, you might be on to something. And if that’s indeed the case, it seems since kowtowing to the soft drink industry quashing Mayor Michael Nutter’s proposed soda tax plan last year, the Council-folks have put the partying into high gear. As thousands of faculty face the possibility of layoffs, Fox News is reporting that one council member has come up with a new plan to help bail out public schools. And if you’re the late-night variety of drunky, it’s genius.
If approved, the proposed measure will keep bars open an extra hour. That’s the bill that Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown will bring before council today. The idea is that if bars are permitted to keep serving until 3 a.m., the added tax revenue could be used to head off the School District’s pending financial disaster. Critics of the bill, including a bar owner, are saying the measure is dangerous and idiotic, and that an extra hour of drinking time at bars will only lead to an increase in crime and alcohol abuse.
Extending Philly Bars Hours To Fund Schools? [myfoxphilly]
Earlier: Soda Tax Goes Flat
