Tobacco Taxes to Help Fund Pre-K?

In his 2014 budget, President Obama is proposing a tobacco tax to increase funding for universal pre-kindergarten (UPK), amongst other programs, reports The New York Times.

The president has openly pledged his support for providing free pre-K to families, especially low-income families, who face more challenges accessing quality education for their children. The Huffington Post explains that a detailed proposal, however, has not yet been officially released. Last January, when President Obama pledged his commitment to providing pre-K to all four-year-olds, it was speculated that his plan could cost up to $100 billion.

If the tobacco tax is increased by 50 cents — to a total of $1.51 — $42 billion in additional revenue could be raised in 10 years, part of which can help fund the president’s pre-k program. California passed a similar plan in 1998, raising $8 billion in eight years to keep the state preschool program afloat during a recession.

While many education advocates and families would support such a measure to provide quality education to all four-year-olds, tobacco lobbyists have been rallying against the increase, as they already faced a major one just four years ago.

“While the specific amount of the proposed increase has not been released,” says David Sutton, spokesman for the Altria Group, one of the larger lobbying organizations, in a statement to the Huffington Post, “it is important to remember that the largest federal tobacco tax increase in U.S. history was enacted less than four years ago. We think it is unfair to single out adult tobacco consumers with another federal tobacco tax increase to pay for a broad, new government spending program."

In addition, some argue that the money generated from a new tobacco tax would be unreliable, as increased taxes generally lead to a decrease in tobacco purchases. This was certainly the case in California. Lisa Guernsey, a New America Foundation early childhood expert, feels that a more reliable source of funding would come from a solid-state education plan.

“You increase the likelihood that there's a line in the budget that can be more easily excised or cut out,” explains Guernsey while describing Obama’s proposal in the Huffington Post, “or that the money can be raised for other things in the future. You want to get to a place where pre-K and Kindergarten are funded through a full education funding plan at the state level.”

Even the tobacco tax increase would not fund preschool for all children from low-income families. Education Week explains that states and educators are still questioning just how these programs are going to be fully funded.

The federal administration has claimed that it will offer grants to states in order to expand UPK programs, but the grants would require a state match and the amount of that match has not been specified. Other federal incentives will also be offered to expand UPK for middle-class families, to support all-day Kindergarten programs and to grow Head Start programs. Again, exactly where these funds will come from is still unclear, but hopefully more specific details will be given following the unveiling of the president’s newest budget proposals.

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