April 02, 2016
You've probably already heard, but just in case, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney wants to implement a 3-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks to fund a planned universal pre-K program.
The plan was the subject of a pretty clever April Fools' Day prank from the news website PoliticsPA. They posted an article Friday that substitutes soda with Cheez Whiz, the topping often used on Philly’s most famous cuisine.
The website includes a faux quote from Kenney about taxing the cheese sauce — popular among the city's "tourists and drunks, according to the article — to fund his pre-K plan. It's even got an angry member of a fake cheesesteak union. Per PoliticsPA:
“Keep the city off of my back and out of my cheesesteak,” said protester Duane Hardy, a member of Sandwichmakers Local 231. “This is just like back in the 70s, when the feds tried to declare Cheez Whiz as a toxic substance. We beat them and we’ll beat this too.”
You can give the full parody a read here, and while Kenney didn't respond to the article on social media, he did tweet out an April Fools' joke of his own:
You can only visit so many pre-Ks before you get tired of hearing kids point out your large nose. Had some work done pic.twitter.com/4XLw3IYu5E
— Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) April 1, 2016
