4 ms·

What do you mean that it's "much easier to just pay people a decent wage"? Do you mean that it's much easier to convince companies to pay their employees more t

What do you mean that it's "much easier to just pay people a decent wage"? Do you mean that it's much easier to convince companies to pay their employees more than they have to, or that it's much easier to pass higher minimum wage laws? Neither of these seem easier than "convince the public to toss in a few extra dollars when they use a lowly paid service". I see "make sure that all working people are paid fairly" as a very difficult problem, and tipping as a moderately effective hack that's easier to implement than the cleaner fix of higher minimum wage of basic income.

brbrodude 10y ago
Other countries have solved the problem. Also there's a lot of other instances where US impossible to crack problem is solved... Not meaning to bash, but it seems evident. Other cultures just aren't so much into cut-throat competition, it's just not that fun.
gregmac 10y ago
Keep in mind that in both US and Canada there's a different (and lower) minimum wage for 'tipped workers'. US Federal law states minimum wage is only $2.13/hr for someone that makes $30/month in tips (instead of normal minimum $7.25) [1]. If they don't make $30 in tips the employer must make up the difference. At 30 hours/week (and 4.3 weeks/month), $30/month works out to $0.23/hr, so the effective minimum wage is still only $2.36/hr. Some states are quite a bit higher (eg Hawaii is $7/hr), and in some (eg, Alaska, California) the minimum wage is the same regardless of tips. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_Stat...
- ismarc 10y ago
  You are grossly misrepresenting the situation and what your own link says. If wages + tips don't equal the normal minimum wage of $7.25, the employer is required to make up the difference. They get, at worst, normal minimum wage.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - gregmac 10y ago
    Ack, sorry, I totally missed that highly important bit! Unfortunately too late to delete.

brbrodude 10y ago

Other countries have solved the problem. Also there's a lot of other instances where US impossible to crack problem is solved... Not meaning to bash, but it seems evident. Other cultures just aren't so much into cut-throat competition, it's just not that fun.

gregmac 10y ago

Keep in mind that in both US and Canada there's a different (and lower) minimum wage for 'tipped workers'. US Federal law states minimum wage is only $2.13/hr for someone that makes $30/month in tips (instead of normal minimum $7.25) [1]. If they don't make $30 in tips the employer must make up the difference. At 30 hours/week (and 4.3 weeks/month), $30/month works out to $0.23/hr, so the effective minimum wage is still only $2.36/hr. Some states are quite a bit higher (eg Hawaii is $7/hr), and in some (eg, Alaska, California) the minimum wage is the same regardless of tips. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage_in_the_United_Stat...

ismarc 10y ago
You are grossly misrepresenting the situation and what your own link says. If wages + tips don't equal the normal minimum wage of $7.25, the employer is required to make up the difference. They get, at worst, normal minimum wage.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- gregmac 10y ago
  Ack, sorry, I totally missed that highly important bit! Unfortunately too late to delete.