The problem is America is that tipping has become a norm, and it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. You have 3 parties with non-aligned goals. Staff

The problem is America is that tipping has become a norm, and it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. You have 3 parties with non-aligned goals. Staff will optimize for earnings, so they actually prefer tips. Many oppose a minimum livable wage (keyword being "minimum", which often ends up being much lower than tipped wages). Customers will optimize for cost while having the peace of mind that workers are getting paid a living wage, so they prefer restaurant owners pay their staff a minimum livable wage, but not any higher than that so they can enjoy meals at a reasonable cost. Restaurant owners are trying to optimize their cost, so they want to minimize cost of operations, which means paying their workers as little as legally required, and have the customer cover the rest by tipping (which is discretionary and governed by norms). The equilibrium -- at least in America -- is found in a reasonable level of tipping.