PolitiFact Florida: Fact-Checking Gubernatorial Candidates Claims On Minimum Wage
Charlie Crist (Right) & Gov. Rick Scott (Left) (Source: CBS4)
Politics
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Election Day less than a week away, so CBS4 News has teamed up with PolitiFact Florida to fact-check the statements made by both major gubernatorial candidates.
Raising the minimum wage is one issue that sharply divides Democrat Charlie Crist and Gov. Rick Scott.
“You deserve to have a governor who will fight for you, fight for a minimum wage increase,” Crist said during the second debate between the two on October 15th.
“The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) says 500,000 jobs would be lost if Charlie gets his minimum wage increase,” Scott countered.
Currently, the minimum wage in Florida is $7.93 an hour. Crist wants to raise it to $10.10 an hour. Scott is against it and accuses Crist of flip-flopping on the issue.
“He voted against increasing the minimum wage when he was in the Senate,” Scott said. “He didn’t think it was the right thing to do so he voted for it.”
The question then remains: Did Crist vote against increasing the minimum wage when he was in the State Senate?
The minimum wage never even came up for a vote when Crist was in the Senate, said Sergio Bustos of The Miami Herald/PolitiFact Florida.
Crist was attorney general when that vote was taken and it was not binding.
“There never had been a vote when he was a legislator. He made a vote when he was on an economic development board, but that had no impact or effect,” Bustos said. “We rated this one false.”
RELATED CONTENT:
