Tipping on top of normal wages is normal in all of Europe, our closest Western cousins. I come from Eastern Europe, and I always tip (perhaps out of a Western c

Tipping on top of normal wages is normal in all of Europe, our closest Western cousins. I come from Eastern Europe, and I always tip (perhaps out of a Western custom, but also becaause I know how s** wages are there, so out of respect for acknowledging their crap wages and their service, even if I know they are paid a regular base wage). This is not what we're talking about at all. Tipping is not simply a social phenomenon when other people's living circumstances depend on it. It becomes an economic necessity when (as the RTFA mentioned, if you'd read it) it becomes required to make a living wage.