County adopts drink tax

The county council last night adopted the drink and car rental tax so many in the blogosphere and citizenry had feared. The points made by the opponents of the tax typically centered on how a new drink tax could adversely affect the restaurant and bar industry in Allegheny County, particularly in border areas. The drink tax will push restaurant and beverage dollars from Allegheny County into Washington and Butler counties. No doubt. We can argue about the extent, but we can not argue the law that states that an increase in a good will decrease the demand for that good.

What has Allegheny County gained from instituting this tax? The county budget provides about $25 million in funding for the Port Authority. Has the Port Authority been spending your money efficiently? To say the least, the answer is no. The headquarters of the Port Authority is in an ornate space on Sixth Avenue in the Heinz 57 Center, costing $840,000 this year alone.

Their primary capital project of late leaves many people asking "Why is the Port Authority building a tunnel under the Allegheny River"? The ditch across the river will connect the T 1.2 miles from Gateway Station to the North Shore. Cost to construct is $435 million, or $68,655 per foot! There are a lot of people that would be happy to have a foot or two's worth of this projects budget spent on an efficiency expert to more properly allocate the funds of the Port Authority.

So in closing, I would like to present the names of the council members that supported the drink tax: council President Rich Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill, and members John DeFazio, D-Shaler, Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, James Burn Jr., D-Millvale, Bill Robinson, D-Hill District, Michael J. Finnerty, D-Scott, Joan Cleary, D-Brentwood, Charles Martoni, D-Swissvale, Robert J. Macey, D-West Mifflin, and Brenda Frazier, D-Stanton Heights.