Word: florida
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...States Voting: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Lousiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington...
...Nevada have the more interesting smoking ban initiatives because voters will have to choose between competing proposals. Some are sponsored by organizations representing hotels, casinos and restaurants because they are less restrictive and accommodate gamblers who do smoke. Others are represented by health care interests. But to date, only Florida and Washington have approved statewide smoking bans. California rejected the measure in both...
...Arizona is not the first state to address the issue. Florida approved a ballot initiative in 2002-despite jokes about the constitutional "Hamendment"-which forbids the confinement of pregnant pigs. And New Jersey, after passing the nation's first law requiring humane standards for all farm animals, is battling a lawsuit seeking to outlaw sow crates as well as the confinement of veal calves and the force-molting of hens through two-week starvation-a practice which increases egg production. Meanwhile, more than 100 college cafeterias nationwide, under pressure from students, have switched to so-called "cage-free" eggs from...
...minimum wage inspired initiative proponents to add a powerful element to each of their proposals: indexing the wage floor to inflation. The idea is to ensure that low-wage workers don't see their purchasing power decline every year as costs rise and their wages remain static. Washington, Oregon, Florida and Vermont have already enacted such indexes. Opponents argue that indexing could lead to spiraling labor costs, but a recent analysis by Michael Ettlinger of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a progressive research institute, suggests that there is minimal risk of the so-called "runaway wage" effect...
...Opponents of minimum wage hikes in all six states have consistently argued that raising minimum wages burdens employers with higher labor costs, leading to job cuts. A September paper by David Macpherson of Florida State University advanced that claim, arguing that a wage hike in Arizona could cause 4,627 workers to lose their jobs. But the paper relies on assumptions that many economists consider outdated and inaccurate. Recent studies have shown little evidence of such job losses in states that have raised their minimum wage in recent years. A letter signed by 650 U.S. economists, including five past presidents...