FLORIDA VOTERS SHOULD TAKE HEED AS FEDERAL DATA WARNS OF A JOBLESS WORKFORCE WITH BALLOT AMENDMENT 2

Congressional Budget Office Report Reveals Damaging Economic Impacts for Floridians with a Wage Hike

Tallahassee, FL — The Amendment 2 Hurts You campaign is urging voters this week to review a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) about the severe and irreversible consequences of a $15 mandatory minimum wage inserted into the Florida Constitution.

This November 3, Florida voters have a choice about the future of Florida jobs, Florida small businesses and Florida’s economy. If Ballot Amendment 2, the $15 mandatory minimum wage is passed, a 2019 report^[1] from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals Floridians stand to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs with an abrupt and massive wage hike.

According to CBO’s median estimate, with a mandated $15 minimum wage nationwide, “1.3 million workers who would otherwise be employed would be jobless in an average week in 2025.”

CBO’s analysis demonstrates how increasing the minimum wage could negatively affect employment and family income in Florida. If the nation were to increase the federal minimum wage, as many as 3.7 million Americans could become jobless as a direct result of the wage hike. The report estimates that a $15 wage hike would also reduce total real family income in 2025 by $9 billion nationwide.

“These data points stand as a warning to the havoc Ballot Amendment 2 will bring on our workforce and small business owners in Florida,” said Carol Dover, President & CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “Our economy is on life support already, with tens of thousands of small businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. More than one million Floridians are currently without a job. We simply cannot risk killing more jobs and leaving more families without a source of income.”

The CBO report also confirms that Florida consumers will be left paying higher prices as the cost of the wage hike will be passed on through price increases. With businesses left to absorb the hefty cost, many will have to raise prices on goods and services.