4 ms·

> Since businesses are unwilling to pay their employees reasonable salaries, and the government is unwilling to regulate wages Except this is not true. The gov

by mhurron 11y ago

> Since businesses are unwilling to pay their employees reasonable salaries, and the government is unwilling to regulate wages Except this is not true. The government does regulate a minimum wage. Businesses never want to pay minimum wage so they have to. But because tipping existed, the restaurant industry was able to carve an exception that if someones tips do not equal up to minimum wage the business will cover the shortfall, but if it exceeds it, the business only has to pay a special lower minimum and the server gets to keep the gratuities. Either way, your server is guaranteed to make minimum wage. That people like you exist, who think that they are doing society a good thing, is one thing that keeps this practice alive. A lot of servers and bar tenders want to keep the special minimum wage + tips setup. Tips are often paid in cash and are much easier to keep off reported income.

loco5niner 11y ago
> if someones tips do not equal up to minimum wage the business will cover the shortfall, but if it exceeds it, the business only has to pay a special lower minimum and the server gets to keep the gratuities Wow. Did not know this.
cowpig 11y ago
You seem to be implying that the current minimum wage system is effective in some way. Try living in any city in the US on minimum wage... Tips are weakly proportional to rents and other costs of living (restaurants have to charge enough to make a profit, and tips are a % of what they charge). Minimum wage is probably enough to get by if you live outside of a major city, but that is definitely not true inside them. Businesses will pay whatever the minimum people will work for, which tends to be well below what society at large feels is reasonable. Obviously, because the business' interests are directly at odds with paying the employee a reasonable salary. With tipping, social forces decide what is reasonable, not the businesses.
- mhurron 11y ago
  > You seem to be implying that the current minimum wage system is effective in some way. Try living in any city in the US on minimum wage... You're talking about a completely different thing, unless you're advocating tipping everyone you believe may be on minimum wage. At no point did what I write imply the current system is good, I simply said it exists and that the restaurant industry carved a special little exception out for themselves. That exception was carved out so they could directly push the burden of paying employees on the customers while continuing to get the same profits from their product.
DrScump 11y ago
<But because tipping existed, the restaurant industry was able to carve an exception that if someones tips do not equal up to minimum wage the business will cover the shortfall, but if it exceeds it, the business only has to pay a special lower minimum and the server gets to keep the gratuities.> In what state(s) does this apply? It doesn't in mine.

by mhurron 11y ago

loco5niner 11y ago

> if someones tips do not equal up to minimum wage the business will cover the shortfall, but if it exceeds it, the business only has to pay a special lower minimum and the server gets to keep the gratuities Wow. Did not know this.

cowpig 11y ago

You seem to be implying that the current minimum wage system is effective in some way. Try living in any city in the US on minimum wage... Tips are weakly proportional to rents and other costs of living (restaurants have to charge enough to make a profit, and tips are a % of what they charge). Minimum wage is probably enough to get by if you live outside of a major city, but that is definitely not true inside them. Businesses will pay whatever the minimum people will work for, which tends to be well below what society at large feels is reasonable. Obviously, because the business' interests are directly at odds with paying the employee a reasonable salary. With tipping, social forces decide what is reasonable, not the businesses.

mhurron 11y ago
> You seem to be implying that the current minimum wage system is effective in some way. Try living in any city in the US on minimum wage... You're talking about a completely different thing, unless you're advocating tipping everyone you believe may be on minimum wage. At no point did what I write imply the current system is good, I simply said it exists and that the restaurant industry carved a special little exception out for themselves. That exception was carved out so they could directly push the burden of paying employees on the customers while continuing to get the same profits from their product.

DrScump 11y ago

<But because tipping existed, the restaurant industry was able to carve an exception that if someones tips do not equal up to minimum wage the business will cover the shortfall, but if it exceeds it, the business only has to pay a special lower minimum and the server gets to keep the gratuities.> In what state(s) does this apply? It doesn't in mine.