State: Race to the Bottom Continues

Another blatant attack on the working population of Florida is being launched by the pro-business anti-labor ideologues in the Florida legislature. This time it is designed to ensure that those who work in restaurants and receive tips will have the privilege of earning less than their current minimum wage. It will "allow restaurants and other employers to pay their staffs the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour instead of Florida's minimum of $4.65."

The restaurant and service sector has lobbied hard for this.
It is a part of the larger legislative agenda pushed by the notorious anti--labor pro-business American Legislative Exchange Council that writes the bills that corporate shills bring to the state house.

What these clueless legislators don't seem to understand -- ever -- is that we are in a DEMAND-side economic crisis. Less money in the hands of workers, less consumer buying power, less demand for products and services (including an unhealthy meal at Outback Steakhouse), and a continually depressed economy.

Of course, none of this even starts to address the cruel impact this will have on the sizable Florida population that are now officially a member of the working poor.