Posted on 01/11/2011 6:43:59 AM PST by JustSurrounded
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Pepsi is packing up production after deciding to stop making soda in Baltimore City, and they’re blaming the new city beverage tax. Kelly McPherson explains the decision also puts dozens of people out of work.
Pepsi will continue to transport products in and out of Hampden but no longer will carbonated beverages be made here. Seventy-five workers have lost their jobs. Pepsi says it’s the economic climate—and something else.
“In the case of Baltimore, as you may know, there was a beverage tax that was passed here and in this case, it did not help in the decision in terms of keeping the Baltimore plant open,” said Pepsi spokesperson Mark Dollins.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimore.cbslocal.com ...
All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi....
So much for that Obama-inspired logo, eh Pepsi?
once more the tax backfires
Liberals: But it’s just a few cents per soda ... whine whine whine
“So much for that Obama-inspired logo, eh Pepsi?”
Liberals are bad at math, they can’t add 2+2 and get 4. The people at Pepsi won’t place any blame on Obama for the beverage tax.
They can't! They're using his logo!
To be fair, the Obama logo fits Pepsi better than it fits Coca Cola.
More hope and change in Baltimore.
Bye-bye 75 fairly decent jobs. And most people who want soft drinks will simply go to another jurisdiction, one with no tax, and stock up.
Big cities are cesspools of liberals.
Oh yes they can! They mayor said that in the future they may add 2 cents to the existing 2 cent tax to make it 4 cents.
I’m obviously against the beverage tax, but this is economic hostage-taking. Pepsi is a proud supporter of pillaging the American public through taxes, as long as THEIR product isn’t taxed. They were so laughably pro-tax-and-spend that their logo was altered to synergize with Obama’s.
The beverage tax will apply to Pepsis sold in Baltimore, and only to those sold in Baltimore, regardless of whether their plant is in Baltimore or not. This is reverse political extortion; they want all the spending programs, they just want only YOU to be the one taxed to pay for it.
This is another sterling example of how liberal companies send all their donation and cash to liberal groups and politicians only to flee the consequences. Democrats keep getting elected to and running all the major cities in America and they have created ghettos from their policies. And yet, people keep voting for liberals.
Ever notice how most businesses in America have fled the corruption of the Democrat-controlled cities and escaped to the suburbs? And yet they all seem to love them some Democrats despite their destructiveness.
Tell you what, take away the Democrats ability to raid the public treasury and there is nothing left for Democrats except failed, destructive policy. The gravy train stops for them and their supporters.
I'm not crazy... you're the one who's crazy...
So the mayor admits they understood the business case and it just wasn't high-fructose rhetoric bottled up by PepsiCo.
The bottle tax passed to help balance the city’s budget, but it expires in three years. The mayor’s office says it’s not off the table to extend the tax or to raise it from two cents a can to four cents a can.
"but so what, we passed it anyway! Not only that, but we let drop a threat that it could double and extend indefinitely."
City officials say they had no opportunity to convince Pepsi to stay.
"What happened? How could we possibly have known? It's not our fault." Really? go back to that business meeting.
“I’m just shocked that they’re pulling out and I asked them if there was anything we could do at the city level with Baltimore Development Corporation and try to offer some kind of incentive and they said it was too far down the line,” said City Council President Jack Young.
"I'm shocked!" Well, you could repeal the tax. "Oh no, we can't do that. But how about an incentive?" Like offsetting the tax? "Well, no." Straight out of Atlas Shrugged.
My guess is they were already going to move the plant. Since as you note the tax is independent of the location of their plant, it doesn’t make much economic sense to move the plant just to punish the city.
Now, if they had threatened this before the city tax was passed, and used it as a bargaining chip to get the city to NOT pass the tax, it might make sense now to follow through, just because a threat is only good if you are seen as willing to follow through. But i don’t rmeember reading about any such threat.
So it seems more likely that, because of economic factors, they decided to shut down the plant, and figured if they were doing so, they could gain some goodwill in baltimore if they blamed the city for it, so the fired workers can have someone else to blame instead of just getting all their friends to drink Coca-Cola products.
The quoted items, and the rest of the article, make it pretty clear they were moving the plant regardless of the beverage tax. Pepsi is just trying to deflect the bad will they will get from the city residents when they shut down the plant, by blaming the city for it.
Same thing happens with lib voters - hence the exodus to Texas - but they also don’t learn - hence Austin.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
I bet those Republicans who run Baltimore are sorry they increased taxes now! (off sarcasm)
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