Ten Florida state lawmakers will live on the minimum wage for five days to highlight the dire need to increase the minimum wage in Florida. State Senator Dwight Bullard (D-39) and State Representative Cynthia Stafford (D-109) have introduced legislation (SB 456 & HB 385) respectively, that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10. However, Republican leadership in both chambers have blocked the bills at every turn.
“People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages. Florida has the second-highest number of people working minimum wage of any state in the country — and, after adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage now pays less than it did in 1968. And that’s just wrong!” said senate bill sponsor Dwight Bullard (D-39).
Using the Economic Policy Institute’s “budget calculator” for an individual with one child who is living on minimum wage, participating legislators will spend Wednesday morning grocery shopping with minimum wage workers from South Florida at the Lake Ella Plaza Publix.
Millions of Americans work every day at jobs that do not allow them to provide for their families. Florida’s current minimum wage, $7.93 an hour, amounts to only $16,494 a year. That’s more than $7,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. A minimum-wage worker working 40 hours a week cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in America.
“I introduced this bill because raising the minimum wage is not just the right thing for millions of working poor, it’s the right thing for our economy,” said house bill sponsor Representative Cynthia Stafford (D-109). “Increasing the minimum wage will not only help struggling families make ends meet, it will also spur economic growth. Low- to middle-income individuals are more likely to immediately spend any additional pay than other income groups. At the end of the day, raising the minimum wage is a win-win situation.”
A recent study by Pew Research Center has documented that nearly three-quarters—73 percent—of Americans overwhelmingly support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10. Additionally, most Americans believe that our economic system is unfair and favors the wealthy. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 in Florida would directly benefit over 1.2 million workers who now make less than that per hour.
“It’s a simple act but for the next four days many of us are buying groceries on a minimum wage budget to highlight the fact that full-time work at the minimum wage is still below the poverty rate,” State Representative Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-112) said. “We are calling on the majority leadership in Florida’s legislature to raise the minimum and do right by our constituents who work long hours in low-paying jobs. Our economy, after all, depends on them.”
The 10 lawmakers are: Senator Dwight Bullard (D-39) & State Representatives Cynthia Stafford (D-109), Kionne McGhee (D-117), Shevrin Jones (D-101), Bobby Powell (D-88), Ricardo Rangel (D-43), Victor Torres (D-48), Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-112), Clovis Watson (D-20), Karen Castor Dentel (D-30)
