Soda Tax

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, does this soda tax? Does it extend to so
my beloved red bull? Will this affect my beloved red
bull that Jimmy.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Buys for me. That won't affect me really in any way,
because I haven't bought one for myself in ages. I'm
seeing the story this morning of lawmakers hearing testimony yesterday
on a proposal it can't possibly count facts in park, I.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Mean the governor's beloved bak and have a slice of
pizza without some facts and Park. We are talking about
soda specifically, Connecticut lawmakers have proposed attacks on those beverages.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
New Say It's Britney Taylor joining us live with more
from the state capital.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Brittany, good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
How much of attacks are we talking here? Good morning, Alyssa.
We are talking about a two cent tax per fluid out.
So to put this in perspective for you, I got
this bottle of diet coke from our work bending machine,
and you can see that it's about twenty fluid ounces,
So that would amount to an extra forty cents at
the grocery store. However, if you purchase one of those

(01:14):
party size bottles of soda, those are usually about sixty
eight fluid ounces, so that would cost you about an
extra buck thirty six at the grocery store. And as
you can see, it doesn't just apply to regular sodas,
but diet sodas as well, anything that is artificially sweetened,
sports beverages as well. What it wouldn't apply to is

(01:35):
any milk based beverages, any infant formulas, or fruit and
vegetable juices. And the revenue from this proposed tax would
go towards funding a free meal program for students across Connecticut.
If they're emphasizing the fact that this would be a
new tax, and they say it would hit the most vulnerable, Democrats, however,
say it's no different than buying a coffee from Starbucks.

(01:58):
Take a listen.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
I think it's like anything, you know, when people go
to Starbucks and pay seven dollars for a coffee because
it's what they've decided to spend their money and that's
their choice.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
And I feel like it's the same way with soda products.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
We've heard the word zero tax, increase budget over and over,
and you know, it doesn't matter which way you slice it.
This is a new tax, and it is a tax
on some of our most vulnerable.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
I mean that does.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
That's that's Fox and Park, it's Avery. We I mean,
we've got a lot of great sodas here in Connecticut
made in the corridor, if you will, that that would
get hit by this. And I'm surprised I'm not already hearing,
but I think their hands are tied because of the
whole that goes hand in hand with our beloved pizza.

(02:44):
I mean, it just it does. And we heard her
in that clip there, this Guilford Democrat Moira Raider, she's
the chief proponent of the bill, and she's saying, these
beverages negatively impact a lot of kid a lot of folks,
especially children. Is that our most vulnerable? That's right, our
most vulnerable children. That's news speak, that's translated for children. Right,

(03:08):
Our most vulnerable, isn't it? And so it seems like
a win win opportunity, she says, to provide a really smart,
consistent way to provide solid revenue that can be dedicated
to school meals. I don't know if it'll provide solid
revenue if people just don't buy it. You know, if
you're saying these beverages negatively impact a lot.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Of focus folks, especially Okay, then no soda, and a
lot of people do the no soda route. They have
The CEO of a supermarket, Geistlers, saying this new tax,
it's going to present challenges to what he does for
a living, to the customer for a living, to the
customers he serves, and speaking for all of us, says

(03:54):
it's just one more tax on top of a bunch
of other ones that we're all already feeling, adding that
higher soda prices in Connecticut, we'll push those those residents
of border towns to purchase their soda in Massachusetts. Hey,
remember when we used to do that with our weed