> Tipping IS about capitalism. Perhaps it's better said as: "Tipping WAS about capitalism". The problem is that tipping amounts in the US have become standard

> Tipping IS about capitalism. Perhaps it's better said as: "Tipping WAS about capitalism". The problem is that tipping amounts in the US have become standardized as part of social compulsion. It's increasingly rare, and I think increasingly considered rude, to undertip a server unless they are very unusually bad. And overtipping is likewise looked on as decadent, the kind of thing hip hop moguls do. Even so, having lived in cultures (Italy, etc.) where tipping is frowned upon, I think it is true that tipping cultures have somewhat better service. But it's also a pretty small difference, and the annoyance of tipping is so incredibly high it is simply not a worthwhile institution. It's basically a mechanism to keep most servers in poverty. Plus we don't tip for food or decor. Why just service?