John Morgan advocates doubling the minimum wage in Florida

Boosting the minimum wage in Florida has been up for debate for a while. Now, an Orlando lawyer is pushing for a constitutional amendment to raise it to $15 an hour.

Presently, the minimum wage in Florida stands at $8.46 an hour. John Morgan, the founder of a class action and personal injury law firm, wants a constitutional amendment to nearly double it to $15 an hour.

Considering the cost of living in Collier County, Maria Rodriguez said she would vote ‘yes.’ Rodriguez, who works in the service industry, said low-income workers always need more money to live a better life.

“I’ve been living here for 29 years and yes, it is expensive,” Rodriguez said.” Way expensive.”

However, Guillermo Ruiz said he would vote, ‘no.’ Ruiz believes the minimum wage should be higher. But, he fears if it goes to $15, prices will skyrocket and no one wins.

“Everything is going to go boom, bang, it’s going to be crazy because everyone is going to raise the prices crazy,” Ruiz said. “It’s going to be no good.”

Morgan argues there are tens of thousands of Floridians who have jobs without a permanent place to live.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is a federal agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress, said if the minimum wage went to $15 an hour nationally, as many as 1.3 million people might be lifted out of poverty. But, another 1.3 million people might lose their current jobs.

Many fear a hike in the minimum wage would lead to businesses going to automation where applicable. We see that in the multinational fast-food chain, McDonald’s, already.

If the measure goes on the 2020 Florida ballot and 60% of the voters approve it, the minimum wage would go to $10 an hour in 2021. Then, it will increase a dollar each year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2026. After that, the minimum wage would adjust for inflation.

“It would be a disaster for Florida,” Maloney said, who works at Twice as Nice.

Maloney, who works at a consignment store, is speaking for the owner who fears the small business in Naples would not make it if the minimum wage increased to $15 an hour.

“Those months May through September-October, it’s hard,” Maloney said. “This would make it double hard if you have to pay people $15. It would make a huge difference.”