There are a number of reasons why the bottle tax should be passed. The obvious one is to bring in more tax revenue for which the city so desperately needs. Secondly, it may cause a child or an adult to think twice about buying one of those sugary beverages that add more calories to their diet — calories they do not need.

The argument that such a city tax would drive consumers to the county for those purchases doesn't make much sense — the cost of gasoline for the round trip would most likely exceed the small savings on tax-free beverages. But another very important part of this bottle tax debate is whether this new administration and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will do what prior administration have been reluctant to do — stand up to the special interest groups and say "Your political influence will not deter us from doing the right thing — putting the welfare of the city above your interests."

That might just set the tone for her administration and restore confidence that government is there to help the people not kowtow to special interest groups.

Sidney M. Levy, Baltimore