Press Releases

Today, the Brookings Institution released a paper that ranks Miami, Florida, among the top ten U.S. cities with the highest levels of income inequality. Since 2007, Miami, much like other major cities, has experienced increased levels of income inequality due to marked declines in household incomes in the bottom 20th percentile in the past seven years.

“This country, including the city of Miami, faces a dire income inequality problem that threatens to gut our middle class, create a permanent underclass, and dismantle the American dream of building economic wealth and financial stability,” said Congresswoman Wilson, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

“With a median household income that is 30 percent lower than the national average, Florida’s 24th congressional district is one of the most economically depressed in the nation. This, coupled with South Florida’s high cost of living, contributes to our high level of income inequality and makes it extremely difficult for many of my constituents to get by,” she added.

“I urge my colleagues in Congress to pass a Working Families Agenda that would boost wages for hard working Americans,” said the Florida lawmaker. “We must do more to address the issue of income inequality, and we must do it now.”

Rep. Wilson is a sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 2150), which would increase the federal minimum wage and raise wages for nearly 35 million American workers. Rep. Wilson also introduced the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 3427), which would combat worker misclassification and ensure that workers are not stripped of their rights to minimum wage and overtime protections.

Rep. Wilson is also a strong supporter of Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn’s 10-20-30 initiative, which would direct at least 10 percent of federal funding for certain economic development programs to communities that have had poverty rates above 20 percent for 30 years.

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson is a third-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school. Congresswoman Wilson also founded the Florida Ports Caucus, a bipartisan taskforce that coordinates federal action in support of Florida’s harbors and waterways.