Another Voice Against the Food Tax

In a blog we wrote a couple of weeks ago entitled, Feeding America vs. A Food Tax in New Mexico, we discussed an ill-advised proposal to re-impose a tax on groceries.

The plan, endorsed primarily by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, is one of several solutions floating out there to deal with the state budget deficit.  But critics say the tax would disproportionately hurt low-income working families.  
 





Several ant-poverty advocates have come out publicly against the tax.   But the opposition comes from all circles, ranging from the New Mexico Voices for Children to blogger Mario Burgos.

 The latest group to make its opposition known is the respected think tank Think New Mexico, which says, "We believe it is a bad idea to balance the budget on the backs of working low- and middle-income New Mexicans."

The organization reinforced this view in an opinion piece  co-authored with the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, that was published in the Albuquerque Journal   Furthermore, the food tax is viewed as a counterproductive measure for the economy.

The money that would be spent on  a new food tax is money that these families would otherwise be able to spend on other goods and services.  In this sense, reimposing the food tax would function as a sort of antistimulus, draining dollars out of the economy.

This is not to say that all taxes are opposed.  Think New Mexico and others have come out with a plan to impose a tax on junk food.

A junk food tax would do some good. It would, for instance, help combat New Mexico's growing obesity crisis.which would reduce health care expenses over the long term.

Think New Mexico encourages us to add our voices to this effort by writing our state legislators and the media.