Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-22) released the following statement after Senate Republicans successfully filibustered an attempt to raise the federal minimum wage. The Republican Majority in the House has also opposed raising the minimum wage. Representative Frankel is a co-sponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.
“A hard day’s work should mean a decent day’s pay. Increasing the minimum wage would help families put food on the table while enabling our small businesses to flourish. We must make our economy work for all of us, not just the wealthy,” said Frankel.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 will allow nearly six million Americans to emerge out of poverty and cease reliance on food stamps and other programs. They also report that raising the wage would generate $22 billion in increased economic activity and create 85,000 jobs. The current minimum wage pays only $14,500 per year.
In Florida, if a $10.10 minimum wage was fully phased in by 2016, it would affect over 1.7 million Floridians and result in over $2 billion in increased wages. It would also provide over $1.3 billion in increased state GDP and over 5,000 new jobs statewide.
No comments:
Post a Comment