This is a (P)op-Ed piece. And it’s going to be short and (Nutra) sweet.
This woman ruined my life.
Her name is Toni Preckwinkle. She is a former Chicago alderman and is the current president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
She was elected to this position on November 2, 2010.
And I want her impeached.
Thrown out of office.
Why all this rancor?
She cast the tie-breaking vote on the hated new Cook County penny-an-ounce beverage tax.
She’s counting on an extra $224 million a year to help balance the county’s books.
For awhile.
Well, I won’t be a party to it.
I am not going to pay that outrageous pop blackmail money.
I won’t do it.
I am going to stand up to those bullies.
From now on, I’m buying my pop elsewhere.
To date, I have schlepped in Seagram’s Diet Ginger Ale and Diet Coke from Pittsburgh and Eagle River.
And I bring pop home whenever I am in Lake, Kane or DuPage County.
I will not give in.
Prekwinkle has always been a left-leaning loud-mouthed fool. There can be no more regressive tax than one that’s imposed on universally used everyday items. Her sugar tax (whether it’s placed on Pepsi, diet-Pepsi, or just plain water) does far more harm to the folks who live in Woodlawn than it does to the ones who live in Winnetka. Taxing-Toni should know that!
Thanks, David. You’re darn right. And cloaking this money-grubbing ploy in righteous indignation and fake altruism- the epidemic of overweight schoolchildren in the poorer neighborhoods- is downright disgusting. Pop is not the reason these kids are fat or get diabetes. That’s part of a much bigger social malaise. This is all about greed and mismanagement. I’m outraged. Vote “No” to her and her soda extortion.
I’ll deliver your soda!!❤️😎
Just deliver you down here for a non-food lunch one day soon. You’re way better than pop. Thanks to the world’s most glamorous food delivery service. ❤️💋
That’s outrageous! I don’t blame you Ellen-I’d do the same thing. Impeach her Cook County
Believe me. This has NOTHING to do
with concern for overweight kids. This is all about fiscal mismanagement. This is a coldly-calculated move to play on peoples’ social conscience. And in the end, it won’t raise enough money to fix anything. Thanks for your support, Lynn. 👍
Ellen,
You really got me started with this one!!!
What have I been trying to tell you and so many others that “liberals” are not really “liberal”….They’re phonies!
It’s people like her (Preckwinkle) that turned this once-proud South Side Chicago democrat (me), into a “racist”, “woman hating”, “bigoted” and according to Hillary, “deplorable” conservative voter!
Many on the left tell us to “raise taxes on the rich”…however you define “rich”. They tell us the “rich” are not paying their fair share…..However you define “fair share”.
If we took the ENTIRE wealth of the so-called “rich” (not just raise taxes on them), it would run the federal government for a day and a half!
Democrats have been running places like Chicago and the schools in them for over 70 years, but somehow Republicans are blamed for their failures. Sad………
So, to all my “liberal” friends…Wake up!
Ok, Bernie. It’s hands across the pop aisle on this one. And Denny, please don’t quit! 😊👍
Ellen, you unwittingly illustrated (even if somewhat tongue-in-cheek) how economics works. Great job.
You uncovered the reason why so many large corporations were trying to locate their headquarters outside of the U.S. in places like Ireland.
The U.S. government taxes U.S. corporations at a 35% rate. Ireland has a rate of 12.5%. A lot of companies were saying, “I’m not going to pay the U.S. rate,” and tried to move to a place, like Ireland, where the rate was cheaper.
Both Obama and Trump wanted to force those corporations to keep their headquarters in the U.S.
Capitalists, however, said “no fair.”
Same thing with you and your pop example. You found a place that has the same product without the tax. Can you imagine Cook County forcing you to buy your pop inside the county?
Thanks, Ellen. I will definitely use this example when I am teaching my grandchildren about economics. I will give you credit for this wonderful lesson. Extra credit if you also denounce socialism 🙂
And congratulations on your first step toward becoming a Capitalist, and dare I say, agreeing with the fiscal conservatives in the Republican party. OMG!!!
Thanks, Steve. But truthfully, this is the only political administration I have totally endorsed. https://youtu.be/uSsUoxlSADk
Oh sure. you would have to totally endorse a system headed by someone named Marx!!!!
Only kidding. Love Groucho, Duck Soup and any movie he was ever in.
Yep, I’m a Marxist. Hail, hail Freedonia!
The government wants to tax,
these are just the facts,
first it’s tobacco,
then its your pop,
They should be given the axe.
The food police are here,
now we need to fear,
more taxes on Snickers,
they’re bad for your tickers,
They’ll soon take away your beer.
Candy and cake and ice cream,
enough sugar to make you scream,
get rid of the surcharge?
with expenses this large?
Face it, you’re living a dream.
I’m very impressed, Steve. You are hereby declared the Poet Laureate of Letter From Elba. Power to the people! 👊
Love it, you’re a tax dodging rengade running contrabond over the county border. Ellen. Have fun, if you ever need a partner in crime, I have 2 trucks my friend.
Don’t temp me, Dale. I might take you up on it. https://youtu.be/SERnoR0jAu4
In Kansas, politicians keep raising the taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, which fortunately I quit using some years ago. They haven’t gone after pop yet, which surprises me, but I gave that up years ago, too, unless it comes free with my meal. I don’t miss the alcohol and pop but still do the cigarettes. Cigarettes are now horribly expensive in Kansas so I’m sure not going to start smoking again because of the cost and my health. But I’d rather they tax these items than our groceries since Kansas already has one of the highest grocery taxes in the U.S. And they’d better not raise taxes on chocolate! We’re both living in states where the governors and their stooges have almost bankrupted our states. So, they’ll tax anything they can get their hands on. I’m sorry your state went after your beloved pop. I hope you’re getting some good deals out of state.
Thanks for your comments, Susan. Sorry to hear about your lousy “sin tax” situation. Btw, I envy your will power. I can’t get the pop monkey off my back. I tell myself it’s my only vice but close readers of the blog would probably disagree. And I’m glad that you pointed out it’s a bi-partisan problem. Corruption and mid-management- and greed- comes in every color. 😝
Oh by the way, I’m not sure any of this has to do with either political party. For those of you who are blaming the Democrats for the tax added to pop in Illinois, my state of Kansas doesn’t come much redder. It’s a conservative Republican governor who has driven our state to the edge of bankruptcy with his individual tax cuts for small businesses (LLC), some of which aren’t so small, including quite a few Koch businesses. The tax cuts for the Koch brothers shouldn’t surprise anyone if they know our Governor Brownback. The trickle down effect didn’t work in Kansas – it just put our state in a terrible financial state. I doubt it’s going to work for our Federal government either since it hasn’t in the past nationally or in our state but we’ll see, won’t we….