American Things Europeans do not understand?!

[@potatophil8432]

What do you think? Do you understand these things as a European?

[@Deviouscoffee]

I own a restaurant and pay my employees above the federal minimum wage, plus the tips they earn as well, so hour-for-hour they get paid relatively well. Unfortunately, doing that keeps our prices a little higher than most Americans like (not prohibitively high by any means, but more than you'd want to pay for a meal even though portion sizes are huge, even by American standards). It's doable... but there really are a lot of taxes and fees that go into running a business. I see why most restaurants pay so little. Even though we've never done that and won't do that to our employees, I understand the reasoning.

[@potatophil8432]

Nice explanation and a good way of treating your employees! :)

[@Deviouscoffee]

@@potatophil8432 Danke 😁

[@michaelbates6474]

lol.. man all through college I worked as a waiter; we worked for tips. The restaurant paid us $2.13/hour. At the end of the shift, before leaving, we entered in our tips (for tax purposes ). The federal govt considered our tips as part of our wages from the restaurants (as if the restaurant was paying us the tips). Yes, it was complete bullshit, but it was also the best way to make money...

[@jlpack62]

No, no, no, no, no......Taxes are collected by small jurisdiction within states and counties. Every county and municipality may have their own sales tax rates, and the taxes often differ by product and service. So, it's not just 50 different tax rates. It's thousands upon thousands of different tax rates and local nuances by products and services, and those may change year to year based on any new tax law that may be established. This is why taxes are collected at the point of sale.

[@MarkWhiley]

That is crazy, someone simplify your tax rates at least within the same state.

[@1524scooter]

Wow, that's an amazing amount of vacation and sick days😯

[@airliners6430]

Yesssss!!! So glad to see you back on here, Phil! Excited to watch!

[@jlpack62]

Only homeowners pay a separate homeowners' association fee. If an owner rents a property, those costs may be included in the rent rate, but it won't be a separate charge.

[@MarkWhiley]

The idea that there's no obligation to pay a tip in Europe... there is, it's considered a social obligation. There aren't many places I haven't left a tip. But it's 10% usually cause we expect businesses to pay administration costs and pay their workers from the profits they get from labour. Rude to give a tip? Haha, no.

[@1524scooter]

Nah, florida man is just a shortcut to say "crazy man, acting bizarrely ".

[@Braddec]

A lot of these are mysteries to US Citizens as well...

[@mariansweigart9269]

YES! Taxes should be on items. Do away with sale and federal taxes!!

[@DCYote1]

Heck, I'm American and I don't understand some of these things, especially after having lived in Europe. On the paid time off thing, a business owner friend of mine said "Why should I have to pay for my employees to take time off?" and I'm kind of at a loss for words there. How might you respond?

[@airliners6430]

Yes, to the less than minimum wage for servers. When I was in HS around 15 years ago, lots of my friends were waiters and made something like $1.50 or $2/hr + tips. If you and Deanna come to Dallas, I'm happy to take y'all to a few places with really top-notch portion sizes. And we’ll get you some more incredible brisket!

[@potatophil8432]

I'm really curious to see Texas! :)

[@rickyn1135]

So,another rule ppl under 18 don’t know,businesses can pay less if under 18 and in school or they assume you’re in HS,anyway. They also don’t pay into the Social Security System(no SSI Deductions) under 18. Almost 15 years Minimum wage was almost that or little above,I’m sure. There’s a State and Federal minimum wages. Fed being higher of course. Still,it doesn’t make any sense why someone would work for $2.15 an hour when 95%+ of jobs may the higher State & or Federal minimum’s. 💁🏼‍♂️ I think it’s Corporate ways of convincing people not fight for higher and fair pay.

[@airliners6430]

@@rickyn1135 I think you’re right! It’s a scam to make the rich richer.

[@airliners6430]

@@potatophil8432 Always welcome! Anywhere in Texas would be good to check out. Easy to do a bunch of great videos in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston too. Ignoring my Texas bias, I’ve seen a bunch of nonstops from FRA to Texas under $450 round trip. It might be worth it for the content!

[@rickyn1135]

The $2.13 is not that many ppl. I googled it. There’s a lot of rules and it’s the Southern States mostly that use it . Also,why would someone work at Meryl’s Bar for $2.13,when they can go wokr at McD’s etc for $10+?!

[@potatophil8432]

exactly my thoghts!

[@jlpack62]

Florida has a sunshine law that makes access and sharing crazy stories much easier. Other states have crazies, but Florida's are most shared.

[@1524scooter]

I did waitress for 2.13 an hour many years ago. It's still the minimum serving wage. Some nights I'd cry at the end of a long hard night, cuz i made so little $$.

[@potatophil8432]

Wow, that is crazy to hear!

[@jamesheiden696]

7%meals tax here on top of all other taxes) Pittsfield, Massachusetts

[@crosscastle100]

High fructose corn syrup added to foods. ,taste like lactose in Mothers breast milk-addictive taste you buy more. UK has outlawed high fructose corn syrup in food.

[@mymessymidlifecrisis]

when i was a waitress i worked for $2.15 and hour plus tips. It sucked really bad

[@Shooting-gallery223]

Ngl me being from Germany some American commercials shove me I’m like why they showing this on tv that’s highly inappropriate

[@Jost2007]

👍 - _auch_ für den YT-Algo! 😊 👍 - _also_ for the YT algo! 😊

[@freedomdove]

I speak as an American here. The amount of pharma drug commercials here is definitely disturbing. And actually illegal. HOAs are horrible! I will never move into a neighborhood with them in place. Absolutely, service personnel (waiters and bartenders) work for way less than minimum wage. I worked those jobs. It was "expected" that your tips would make up for the rest. In reality, that doesn't always work out to the benefit of the worker, and sometimes it works out to be a really good thing. It comes down to many different factors. How busy is the establishment? How good is the service and the food (which isn't in the waiter's control)? How cheap or generous is the customer? So many things can influence one's wage when you are doing restaurant/bar work. You can get ripped off or you can make a decent living wage. Some of it has to do with how nice you are and how attentive you are to your customers. If you're no good at your job then you don't deserve the same wage as someone working off their tail and doing a good job at it. But when dealing with Ebenezer Scrooge, it doesn't matter. You can be the best of the best and still not get a good tip from some dude who is miserable in his own life and can't be bothered to see your worthiness. Excess sugar is definitely a problem in the USA. That's why I prefer to make my own desserts. I can control the type and the amount of sugar in my cookies and brownies and cakes. It ends up being about a third less sugar than what you find in pre-packaged goods or sweets from a bakery. Okay, just so you know. Ammo is NOT found *in* pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens. There are stores like Walmart who do sell both (I agree that this is weird), but the pharmacy area is NOT doling out ammo. They are distinctly separate departments that are on the opposite sides of a *huge* store. Idk who is narrating and producing that show but they are wrong. The majority of the gun-related deaths are NOT being caused by law-abiding citizens. It's usually gang-related violence that happens within their own communities--and none of them have license to carry. The genie has already been let out of the bottle, as it were. Criminals will always gain access to weapons--no matter what. It's called the Black Market. If you restrict citizens of that right, you're doing nothing to lessen crime. You're only making it worse by restricting people's ability to defend themselves against those criminals. Do you want to see what happens when you restrict a population from being able to defend themselves? Look no further than the extermination of certain people in your own country several decades ago. Do you think they would have been so easily taken to the death camps if they had the right to bear arms and protect themselves against authoritarian governments? 🤔

[@AbigailGossett003]

Mah dude, I left a job because I got tired of having to clean up the used syringes and crack pipes in the bathrooms.

[@rickyn1135]

Pizza huts are shutting down BTW?!💁🏼‍♂️

[@arnodobler1096]

11:20 is child abuse

[@potatophil8432]

no no no, it's a beautiful tradition! ;)

[@rickyn1135]

Public Toilets.? Erm they still don’t have to be that high?! They’er full of shit,they excuse ppl that is. SMH

[@crosscastle100]

Stop at Bucees

[@rickyn1135]

@@crosscastle100 Are they better or No doors etc. lol

[@earljack1978]

VAT in Europe is generally way higher than sales tax here in the US. I think they hide VAT in the price, so you don't see or think about paying a crazy ~20% tax.

[@AbigailGossett003]

Mah dude, I left a job because I got tired of having to clean up the used syringes and crack pipes in the bathrooms.