How Much Should Consumers Have to Pay for Tipflation? Troy Iwata Investigates | The Daily Show

[@2MeterLP]

If a business cannot stay open while paying employees a living wage, then let it fail. Europe doesnt have tipping culture and its full of restaurants. In Japan, tipping is seen as an insult, and they have restaurants. So it is clearly possible to run a restaurant where the employees arent reliant on customer charity.

[@DehnusNorder]

Why is it seen as an insult?

[@johan.ohgren]

@@DehnusNorder Possibly because you are implying they are poor/can´t live on their wage.

[@Mezig34976]

@@DehnusNorder cultural difference...

[@pleiadiblu2365]

Norder, Because you already pay what you are asked: no need for charity or bribing on top of the listed price. Nice, clean and transparent. On top of that, if waiter is nice, as it is the case rather often, you know he is not doing it for the tip.

[@2MeterLP]

@@DehnusNorder a mix of insulting the employer by insinuating they underpay their workers and insulting the worker by insinuating that they wont do their job properly unless bribed to do so. Im not Japanese though, this is just what 5 minutes of googling tells me.

[@CherylMorales-q8s]

I really have nothing to say other than that people should form unions and that tips are outdated.

[@mrdavidashley6892]

We're forcing people to pay tips instead of forcing THE COMPANIES to pay people the right wage. Every other business has to budget in wages into their structures. There are other countries that do not tip, remember that...

[@NutellaCrepe]

It’s not forced, but rather a practice encouraged by consumer behavior. Consumers get the ultimate choice whether to give any company their money, and at the end of the day, people just want to see the lowest prices possible without thinking if it means supporting employers who underpay their workers. The worst ones will take advantage of the lower prices and then not tip, resulting in the indirect exploitation of the workers serving them. If consumers would have the restraint to just stop supporting businesses that underpay workers, then problem solved.

[@FloatingInSpace5702]

No, at like Lula it is in fact part of the bill. I’m personally okay with it though. It actually relieves my stress around tipping to know it’s part of the receipt and that it’s going to healthcare benefits etc…

[@jameswhite3415]

​@NutellaCrepe Tipping in America comes from the prohibition of alcohol.

[@lorrainehopkins3030]

exactly, just another tax

[@saishowaguu2]

Yes, there are countries that don't tip. However, they have other things that balance that out. Lower cost of living, universal healthcare, clean and efficient public transportation, free college tuition, 2-3 months vacation time, etc.

[@Martinbeef]

Tips are ridiculous in America. People need to be paid a decent wage.

[@Ejudicator]

Agreed. If a business requires underpaid workers to function then it is not a successful business model.

[@LunaryxDiarmait]

Exactly. The tipping culture needs to quit. It's an epidemic.

[@WanderingExistence]

What's insane is that even KH supporters are so dim that they think not taxing tips is the solution rather than just increasing the "tipped minimum wage". The tipped minimum wage is lower than regular minimum wage because legislators just assume that they'll get tipped properly.

[@larryellisreed280]

For years, in fact, The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island had a policy where tipping is "neither expected nor permitted," but a service charge of 15% to cover expenses is added to guest bills. And who still remembers York Steak House, which had a "no tipping" policy?

[@velocity1012]

With tips, my sister's restaurant server salary was $65,000. With just the regular minimum wage (not the food service minimum wage), she would have been making $20,000. I think YOU just don't like to tip people. I also think it's possible that you never worked in food service, or if you did, you were doing fast food which is notoriously not tipped.

[@XanderEwald]

It’s bizarre how the US are still arguing about problems that have been solved more than a century ago in Europe. We have reasonable minimum wages, universal healthcare, and tipping is optional.

[@Pho-KingSoupTonechasr]

The standard of living in much of the west surpassed America decades ago.

[@diegojines-us9pc]

when tipping. people get insulted if you dont tip enough. funny when i tell my boss or costumer they didn't pay enough they still insult me.

[@willwhitneymusic]

Especially when you consider that “the US” was founded/colonized by Europeans.

[@HonestAJP]

I would argue that America is still a young country in the big picture. And Americans are just super stubborn.

[@diegojines-us9pc]

@@willwhitneymusic funny thing about doing DNA testing. there is not , NOT, one report that labels anyone as americans. not even native American, because they didn't have a recorded trial to follow.

[@ImmuneToTrollHate]

Tips are a bad excuse for employers to not pay their employees a living wage Yes, if we get rid of tipping the cost of services will go up But not more than what we are having to pay in tips because these people can't afford to live if we don't

[@MrVovansim]

Tips and firearms. The rest of the world has figured out how to live without them, but for the US it's somehow unimaginable.

[@Uruz2012]

It would be literally the same. The money would just go through payroll instead of directly to the worker. How do you think the server would make the same as they do now if the price doesn't go up by the tip amount?

[@stefrost4029]

@@Uruz2012 They'd have a protected income though and not rely on people's mood in order to cover their rent. And we wouldn't all be expected to pay extra to someone who doesn't provide decent service. It works well for the rest of the world.

[@christophercarrillo4231]

​@@MrVovansimbecause Republicans refuse to admit it's a problem when it's an opportunity for some of them

[@mats7492]

its strange how eating out in the US is already very, very expensive without the 20-30% expected tip..

[@BlackCatAlley23]

Trump wanted to give tips to the owners not the workers. Look it up. Congress stopped him last time he tried it.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

The whole no tax on tipping is a tax evasion scheme waiting to happen. How about I build you an office for 70% of the price, and you tip me the other 30%? Thank you for your office cleaning services at half price which amounted to just over $15.000 this month. Here's a $15.000 tip for the hard work you provided. Our office workers are all volunteers, but as your employers we will tip you for the hard work you provide. Your tips should amount to about $2500/month, which is what you would normally make after we had to pay taxes on your salaries.

[@irubberyouglueonethousand5384]

@@bloodymarvelous4790 No more than the tax evasion Musk and the 1% billionaires already been doing. But sure, let's vilify tipping hard working low-income food workers instead

[@brucebradley5877]

@@bloodymarvelous4790 So your remarks are irrelevant to this comment about Two-Faced Trump. Trump actually did sign a bill that gave owners the right to keep tips for themselves. No tax on Overtime was the same scam because Trump wants to eliminate overtime or at least raise the minimum hours before the government or a company must pay overtime from 40 to 53 or 60 hours a week.

[@TKB231]

Trump also said he wants to get rid of overtime, so with tariffs coming in and prices are going to rise because of the tariffs he is taking the cream off the top that many people rely on in their paychecks.

[@infin8ee]

Nobody to stop him this time around. The entire tip situation is another example of the "haves" not wanting to provide the basis for working people to have a living wage . They pinch pennies so hard they're screaming 😱

[@2MeterLP]

"If we pay workers a living wage, everything will be super expensive!" No, it wont. European BicMacs are only 40 cents more expensive than in the US, and that is mostly because the quality is much better thanks to food quality laws.

[@AwesomeFish12]

The price will be the same, since you are paying the extra in the form of tips anyway but fewer people will "miss out" and end up under payed.

[@jamesestelle7260]

If you increase the minimum wage, it kills the middle class. Look what happened to California for an example of other issues it causes. There has to be a steady increase across the board, or you run into serious issues where your lowest paid employees earn as much as senior employees/management.

[@Uruz2012]

Macdonald's isn't a place where people tip and doesn't wualify for any of the special labor laws that apply to tipped employees.

[@50043211]

@@jamesestelle7260 😆😆😆Europeans must be magicians then!

[@trevor2001]

You have a VAT in Europe, America does not.

[@prof.jezebel]

I believe in tipping for table service but being forced to tip (by the debit machine) for someone handing me a croissant over a counter is obscene.

[@SuSpicious9748]

Correct it to “microwaved croissant” 😂

[@Uruz2012]

Forced to do something? They'll still hand you your coffee if you don't tip. Asking for something isn't force, lol.

[@jaybee1420]

Why? Tipping for table service is saying the following: 1) you assume the restaurant is too much of a miser to appropriately pay their employees 2) you assume that the employee is going to treat you less professionally because you don't bribe/tip them 3) you want to tell your other patrons that unless they bribe/tip the waiter/waitress at least as much as you do, you should be given preferential treatment by said employee. In the meantime, the quality of your service is not based at all in the amount that you tip unless you visit that restaurant at least once a week. The amount that you will tip will also not change meaningfully depending on the service that you receive. Just ponder a moment what would happen if you weren't like expected to pay the employee's wages of the restaurant you went to.

[@Rowsy91]

@@Uruz2012 its annoying that it is even asked. Thats most peoples thoughts id say Like in what world does your starbucks or subway person deserve a tip? Its not on the same planet as waiting on you like a server at a restaurant I get your point, nobody is forced to tip even a cent. But the idea that they think it should be on a customers mind even is just pathetic

[@RealAnthonyJones]

@@Rowsy91nice way to call the owners of places you frequent “pathetic” for underpaying the staff.

[@joseph8947]

Im an American who has retired to Spain. There is no tipping culture here. Why, because waiters get paid a livable hourly wage. Lunch is about 12pm to 3pm. Restaurant closes, then dinner starts at 7pm to about 10pm. Lunch: Entre, salad, wine, coffee, and a desert, is about 13.00euros. In the US, it drives me nuts that restaurant owners are greedy and want to become millionaires. People in the US in general are never satisfied with what they earn. Always striving for more. And they put the responsibility of paying their workers on the customers, who already over pay for food. Restaurant owners in Spain and the rest of Europe pay way more taxes than restaurant owners in the US do. Yet they manage to pay their workers a descent wage. And everyone here has healthcare through the state. But many also buy private if they can afford it. America is the only country in the world that does not offer universal health care to its citizens.

[@bluegold1026]

And there's the problem: it would mean Americans paying higher taxes. Knowing the vast majority of Americans are incredibly simple-minded with short-term memories, that's out of the question. Taxes = bad. That's all they need to make a decision at the ballad box. I'm an American and personally wouldn't mind higher taxes if it meant paying workers a living wage.

[@mats7492]

@@bluegold1026 considering all costs americans and europeans have about the same wage deductions! Difference is that europeans get WAY more stuff in return

[@USUG0]

probably not really livable hourly wages according to the waiters. The main difference is that they don't have to worry about healthcare because it is a universal socialized service.

[@teonesofle]

if a business can't survive without tipping, it shouldn't be running as a business in the first place

[@zvmZvm0102]

And when the businesses shut down will you be happy? Or just complain that you can't find work?

[@LarthV]

@@zvmZvm0102 I mean, if I have to pay welfare anyway, I'd rather just pay it directly.

[@teonesofle]

@zvmZvm0102 if a company shuts down for that, then it was poorly run company to begin with...lack of tipping is not the issue. It's likely poor management, bad service or a bad product. Tipping shouldn't be used as a cover for poor results or an excuse to not pay your employees a liveable wage. Tipping is a bonus & should not be an expected line of revenue.

[@Spidrick]

It used to be if you picked up your food/take out, you were not expected to tip. I did so during COVID because everyone was struggling but now it's gotten crazy;

[@ting-ting7001]

I agree.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

How about this: If you need a 15% tip in order for your employees to earn a livable wage, why not just up the prices by 15% and pay them what they need?

[@LunaryxDiarmait]

Hey now. Quit talking logic. That's illegal in the US.

[@Spearca]

Because that makes listed prices higher and loses business.

[@101realtor]

Same reason car dealers add on junk fees to the listed price, items aren’t priced with tax added on already, convenience fees aren’t added to online ticket purchases…if it looks more expensive upfront people won’t pay. After going through to almost making the purchase, you’re much more likely to pay. Business tactics unfortunately.

[@mromutt]

@@Spearca Well since its expected you have to tip 20% theses days AND all the prices have dramatically gone up I have just stopped going to those places anyway lol. It basically costs double now when you add it all together. Only going up 15% seems nice in comparison.

[@amitpatilamit]

​@Spearca Really? You are telling me that if I told an American that one restaurant is serving Burgers at $10+15% minimum tip and the other is serving it at $11.5 with no tipping policy... they would not be able to figure out that it is basically at the same price, but the second restaurant is guaranteed fixed pricing?

[@crashnova7601]

I don't really have anything to say except tips are out of date and people need to unionize.

[@sechsauge]

(Germany here) Crazy take on this topic: Those people working for the ""company"" COULD.... I just say """COULD""" get paid by that company they are actually working for.

[@ericcarlson6822]

Abolish tipping. It's not a customer's job to pay employees.

[@timf7679]

Where do you think an employer's money comes from?

[@LarthV]

@@timf7679 *Directly, I assume, was meant by OP.

[@trevor2001]

Then have fun delivering your own take out and groceries, chief.

[@bluegold1026]

Agreed, but not until the minimum wage is raised to a livable level.

[@thevikingbear2343]

​@trevor2001 as a delivery driver I would be happy if pay was reasonable and no tip was needed. As of now I can only deliver stuff when the customer tips. Otherwise, I would lose money

[@MizuMing]

Just pay the workers a fair live ng wage like Europe does and problem solved. To bad the system is all greed in North America as a whole.

[@fabdramelay]

I mean, a lot of countries don't have this tips culture and it works fine. Just pay people enough.

[@RustyBressler]

Pay us a living wage, just that easy

[@zvmZvm0102]

Restaurants have an incredibly thin margin. They won't stay in business if they do.

[@Raskolnikov32]

@@zvmZvm0102 Tough luck for them, then.

[@gamers542]

No it isn't. Living wages vary widely across the country and that affects your local places. If your favorite places raises prices too much to cover an increased wage, then that restaurant wouldn't get much business because people would see the sky high prices and not go there.

[@ricardoamendoeira3800]

​@@zvmZvm0102 Just increase prices so the customer pays exactly the same as with a tip but now it's transparent for everyone.

[@jasonengberg1583]

Employers who rely on subsidizing their employees pay with tips is a form of tariff. Direct to consumer tariff.

[@RawbeardX]

if your business cannot afford to pay people, it should not exist.

[@Brendonherring522]

Stop tipping on to-go orders. Stop tipping on anything where you're not waited on. As a rule, if the host/hostess doesn't physically come to the table twice, it isn't a restaurant that requires tipping. Point blank.

[@carap6343]

Last week we went to a place and ordered to go. They automatically added 20% tip plus a line for an additional tip!

[@GarretGrayCamera]

I was confused what to do at this new type of restaurant. You order at a kiosk, take a number, sit down. Of course, you had to tip before there was ever any service. The waiter brought us the food and that was it. He never came back. I had to get up to get silverware, napkins, refill my water. What did I tip for? A lot of servers do the absolute minimum and expect a tip.

[@Rowsy91]

Yep i wont tip on anything but actual hands on service that took time My barber, for sure. My server at a restaurant, for sure Uber drivers, fast food/coffee, check out line people, etc go F yourself lol

[@mats7492]

@@carap6343 i wouldve requested that to be taken off or cancel the order..

[@carap6343]

@@mats7492 you’re absolutely right!

[@frogneckmanthethird.]

It's not complicated. Higher inflation should mean Higher wages to combat it, but greed rules all.

[@liquidsnake23]

exactly. we cant rid of inflation but we are suppose to stay ahead of the curve

[@Marigold-m2]

@frogneckmanthethird. Workers will never be satisfied. In Canada, our Canada Post employees are currently on strike because they don't believe they make (starting) $23/hr Cdn + Sick Leave, Vacation + Rx, Optometrist Benefits, etc on top of regular Canadian Healthcare, for walking or driving around & delivering the mail. Most of the letter carriers brag about finishing the job in 6 hrs but they are paid for 7.5 hrs/day. They require a grade 12 high school equivalent. The job is very low skill & responsibility. They have a union which has rejected a 11.5% increase over 4 years. They want 22%. Some workers will never be happy no matter how much they make, they will think they deserve more. BTW: Canada Post has lost $490 million in the first 6 months of 2024 through their operations. Total $3 Billion lost since 2018. Not only do the greedy employees not want to work, they want higher wages & more benefits. It makes no sense. Most of them couldn't get a job at MickyD's even if they did apply. They have bad attitudes & are delusional about their worth.

[@Spearca]

I mostly hate percentage tips. The service workload does not scale with the price of items.

[@chrisfranklin7547]

Exactly. If you’re already paying $100 for a Michelin star plate of food, why would you also have to pay $20 for someone to carry it from the kitchen.

[@RebeccaHunt-wv8bc]

Right? If one person orders $10 worth of food, she is expected to pay about $2 in tips. If that person orders an expensive meal worth $100 at the same place, he's then expected to pay$20 in tips. But the service is exactly the same. The more expensive food isn't any more trouble for the server.

[@rachelivy9712]

@@RebeccaHunt-wv8bc it might be for the kitchen preparing it and a percentage is often going to back of house. The price of ingredients and other factors in the price should not affect the tip though, I agree. At a café near me I can order a tea for $3 and the barista will get a mug, get the tea bag and pour the water and often bring it to me if I am sitting down. I can also go grab a beer from a display fridge for $8-$9 and they only have to ring it in for me. To me, the tea deserves a bigger tip than the beer even though it is less expensive.

[@wadestclair249]

Tip tax Harris’ campaign said that as president she would work with Congress to draft a proposal that includes an income limit and other provisions to keep hedge fund managers and lawyers from structuring their compensation to try to take advantage of the policy. She also would push for the proposal alongside one to increase the federal minimum wage. Trump wouldn't have income limits and the other provisions blocking the rich from reaping the rewards again under a Trump presidency. Plus critics argue that the no taxes on tips policy may not effectively target those who need it most. A Yale University analysis found that only a tiny fraction of the workforce would benefit from the tax exemption, as many low-income workers already pay minimal or no federal income tax due to their earnings level. Meaning that both sides can back this issue but in the end it literally is of little to no help if Kamala or Trump wins to the low income people that it is geared to help but if Trump wins the rich hedge fund managers and lawyers will just get richer by rearranging their income as tip based. 🤦

[@NoswadObet]

I just quit eating out. Tip myself. No door dash either that is so lazy and expensive for no reason.

[@amitpatilamit]

This was the biggest BS I experienced in USA. Tip is not supposed to be mandatory. I will give tip if I feel I received a great service and I decide how much. If a server feels bad about not getting enough tips, he should be angry at his employer and NOT the customers.

[@stefrost4029]

The other thing that irritates me is states that have sales tax add it on at the till instead of just telling you the actual cost on the price stickers. Seems purposefully confusing and misleading. I've only seen that done one time here in the UK (in a sushi place); decided to just go elsewhere out of principle.

[@annoyedaussie3942]

As an Aussie a tip is supposed to be voluntary. If it isn't then it's a charge. When you holiday in Australia if you like the service pay a tip , if you are short of cash don't, if the service is bad don't, it's completely voluntary.

[@AwesomeFish12]

I have never seen someone get a tip in Australia. I know I have never done it.

[@Uruz2012]

It's the same here in the US. You still get the same service as everyone else. People feel social pressure to tip. It isn't actually required.

[@DevineAbyss]

@@AwesomeFish12 We are probably somewhere in between in Germany. Tipping is in no way mandatory and many many people don't tip at all. Most people only tip in certain situations. The only case where most people tip is food delivery. Pretty much everyone would give the pizza guy a tip, because their wages are low. Like as a college student I never tipped, because we all had no money. Now I'm working and I tip occasionally. I tip when I especially like someones service. I of course tip the food delivery guys, unless that one guy who called me 15 times early and wanted to stand outside and wait for him multiple times. That guy stopped getting tips the second time he did that. And I always tip the barber and the two small restaurants in our little town, because I want to them to keep existing preferably until I die of old age. (: I think that is how it should be. Not giving a tip shouldn't be seen as unusual or negative. People who financially can or like your service do, others don't. If your digital payment board DEMANDs a tip, that means it has gotten way out of control. At that point it has nothing to do with the foundations of tipping anymore. It's just part of the product cost at that point.

[@infin8ee]

I leave a tip if I feel it's warranted and I have the money. Glad I don't have too. I get annoyed at the supermarket when they ask you to "round up" for a charity. It's so rude considering the amount they're making atm.

[@stefrost4029]

@@infin8ee That's so they can get a tax break for charitable donations afaik.

[@Tamsuw1781]

So pay them more, get rid of tipping and they pay taxes on their wages. Not taxing tips takes money away from some important programs that those taxes support. And raise the prices at the restaurants, etc. a bit to help with that. I'd pay a bit more not to have to worry about tipping. I do have a problem with people saying tips belong to the person so they shouldn't have to pay taxes on it... It is part of what they earn so it should be taxed. My mom was a waitress...I get it, but if I have to pay taxes on all I earn so should they.

[@Pho-KingSoupTonechasr]

I have a tip for baristas, don't vote against your best interests.

[@ce311]

YES, spot on comment!

[@fragheads6456]

I’ve worked several jobs that were tipping jobs. Waited tables and pizza delivery. Tips are an absolutely horrible concept. I recently saw a tip option at a convenience store AND A GAS STATION. People just need to be paid correctly. It’s a cop out to allow companies to pay less and force workers to do more. Like “oh you a raise well earn more tips. “That’s nonsense. Prices keep going up but wages are staying low because of tips. Restaurants should just do a percentage of sales and that way it forces people to know the menu appropriately and actually sell items that are more profitable for the company. People are going to order what they want anyways but you will feel more comfortable spending the money because you know the server is already being paid for their services. It’s also easier if there is a mistake in the kitchen that the server isn’t affected. If the server messes up and is horrible then people could still have the option to complain and then it weeds put the bad severs and gets then to focus on their job.

[@theplouf5533]

I'm French and I've never paid a tip in my life. Usually, we have something called a boss and fair wage rules but I'm too French to understand. For me it's a bygone era when we paid people for favors, it's almost disgusting.

[@jaybee1420]

It is disgusting but here in the US, not tipping is like paying half of the price of your meal and then leaving because fair wages isn't something that is mandated here. Heck, we still pay for food, housing, and healthcare of the employees of one of the wealthiest families in our nation while most people keep giving their money to their chain of stores because either they have no choice to go anywhere else for the goods sold at Walmart or they ignore that their lower prices include the taxes they already pay while the Waltons keep getting richer.

[@zxG777]

Minimum wage is the way, tips should be reserved for when someone goes above and beyond. $7.25 is less than half of the UK min wage, which is insanity

[@b8akaratn19]

I tip when I see someone doing a job well and know I myself would've done the same job half-assed. I also tend to look at tipping as the new hazard pay, since being in the service of others has somehow become a health risk. 😔

[@tommcfadden5232]

Just a thought…if we tip for the service, why do we calculate the tip as a percentage of product we purchase? Example…at a sit down restaurant you order a 12 dollar burger and tip 20% ($2.40) Order a salad for 10 dollars from the same waiter and tip 20% ($2.00). Basically you have ordered 1 item. Assumably the waiter is doing the same amount of work and providing the same service. Tipping is essentially a scam. It shifts the responsibility for paying wages onto the consumer.

[@Jeff-fy1fp]

One issue with not taxing tips is that workers will have less recoded wages, and therefore smaller social security checks when they retire

[@user-eh4jv6xw4l]

In WA state, they get paid minimum wage, which is around 19.97 an hour. Amazon drivers make a decent starting wage of 18.95. They all want a tip. No matter how much they make.

[@lazurusknight2724]

So glad I wasn't alone. I thought the obvious answer was to get rid of all tips, make the owners pay a living wage. The "fair days wage for a fair days work" is supposed to be the social contract between employer and employee, not customer and employees.

[@SlavaUkraini85]

US is simply a joke. Everywhere in Europe service staff gets fair salaries and are not dependent on tips

[@InitialT-tm-]

I don’t mind tipping for service but the percentages constantly going up is a scam by the industry. Only 35 years ago, suggested tips were commonly 8/10/12%. Now the bottom tier is no lower than 18%. You may hear the argument that tip percentage needs to rise due to inflation. Nonsense! It’s a percentage of the price you paid. That price already went up due to inflation. So even if you paid the same percentage, the tip is already adjusted for inflation.

[@Yourmission9]

First you have to walk through the grocery store to pick out all your items, then you have to go to self checkout to ring up all of your items. I’ll be tipping myself next time

[@SneekyPete111]

And notice the price of groceries haven't gone down !

[@Bladorage]

Why wouldn’t you tip at a grocery? You get complementary cold air, traumatized staff to inflate non grocery working consumer self importance, cart support occasionally, customer support occasionally, the convience of avoiding eye contact and talking to people of same or oppsite gender through a machine. They even sometimes have free onsite bathroom and free parking. if you order an online order they might not lose track of stuff and they even walk and load things in your car at risk to their bodys. The store is even organized at times and you even get the song played on repeat for thrill of tasting insanity both during after the holidays to get that heart pumping assuming your soul isn’t crushed.

[@ihatetoshiba]

Tax tips, but have 0% federal tax on the first $50,000 earned. Suggesting no tax on tips encourages reclassification of wages to "tips" to avoid taxes on them, and will divide tipped and non-tipped workers, encouraging them to fight with each other over who should pay taxes.

[@darrenmdr]

Tipping is just wrong, Businesses should pay their employees properly.

[@Johnny_C137]

So we're just ignoring that the project 2025 agenda calls to either totally eliminate tipping, or to make it so employers can keep those tips instead of the workers.

[@IndelibleAndy]

TLDR: Living wage, sock market reform, healthcare reform. I am finally at a place in life where I can afford the expected 25% tip. I saw 30% on a checkout page for carry out last week. We pay it because we both worked many years in food service, and I pray we never have to again. It's very hard work. There was a time we chose not to go out to eat, or order in, because we couldn't afford the already high cost of the food and pay the tip. You don't order food and then not tip. Instead we'd get out the hamburger and a box of noodles. That means nobody got that money. I make less money every year because of cumulative inflation and the cost of healthcare. My dollars are worth less and less each year. Yet, people who have less will look at us and say we are "rich." I'm not the problem. It wouldn't take much for us to fall back below that line where we can afford it. The only people not being hurt or slowly whittled down economically are the people at the top of large companies, and the truly rich, who say they have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the stock price keeps going up on the backs of customers and employees. We need a living wage, but we also need to reform the stock market and the healthcare system. There is an obscene amount of wealth at the top, and it is not trickling down at a rate that is making society more secure. A healthy economy is when a lot of money moves around the whole of society. If it is only being exchanged in volume at high levels at the top (or hoarded), that is a clearly immoral unhealthy society. All of this is not sustainable.

[@alicewright4322]

3:48 she says restaurants have a thin margin, but their cost of goods sold is only 30 % of their revenue eg. over 200 % markup. compare to a gas station where COGS is 90 % of their revenue. restaurants have a very THICK margin and they are lying about it to jack regular working folks.

[@southend26]

Consultants and CEOs are about to start getting million $ tips

[@WanderingExistence]

Wage labor is renting yourself via "self ownership". Employment is literally renting another human being as if they're property. The employer-employee relationship is a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract, like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own capital goods other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at the very least, capitalism needs unions and safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value people for their human value. Importantly we must also think about our sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class to value. We must figure out a way to change this economic system if we wish to value each other.

[@maleusgaryn8227]

And so I should or should not tip the self checkout kiosk?

[@WanderingExistence]

@maleusgaryn8227 Always tip the new robo-overlords. One day they will completely control your access to resources. At first I was joking and now I'm not sure... 😬

[@2MeterLP]

I dont mind selling pieces of my lifetime, I just want a decent price for it!

[@WanderingExistence]

​@@2MeterLP You don't want control over your life? Do you want your bosses to be despotic "if the pay is right"? Where's the dignity?

[@2MeterLP]

@@WanderingExistence Control over my life? What are you talking about? Im still the one selling my time, I decide who gets to buy it. If someone is a despot, I just dont send them an application. Or quit if I find out after signing. Working for someone is the easiest way to afford food and housing, the dignity lies in getting paid properly and in the fact I can leave anytime. Sure it would be nice if I didnt have to work, but humanity has neither the tech nor the resources to put everyone on a utopian abundance lifestyle. Maybe we will in a century or five, but until then I dont mind working, its better than searching for mushrooms in the forest and living in mud huts.

[@marmantole]

I went to a doctor, got some skin tags removed, got asked for a tip 🤦‍♂️

[@sagittated]

No you didn't

[@lanceisgreat]

It's your boss's job to pay the employees... Not the consumers...I think I'll start tipping less now...

[@timf7679]

Hey genius, where does the boss get the money from?

[@akj3344]

Hey genius, do you understand what op said? Customer pays the boss for the whole service, all employees including the waiter get a cut aka wage. Money shouldnt go from customer to employee.​@@timf7679

[@jenem9618]

Maybe the profit margins in the restaurant industry wouldn't be so thin if the only restaurants in business were the ones that can afford to pay labor costs-- like every other industry/business in the country is expected to.

[@melissagerman-ez9dl]

Maybe if we pay the tips we should be able to deduct that from our taxes. Lol.

[@ginahouston9352]

it's the audacity of employees who ARE paid at least min wage (yes, it needs to be $15) asking for tips.... and there are some localities where tips are above $60k, so how is not taxing tips gonna work? (Vegas, NYC,LA, etc) ....tips are subsidizing server industries b/c the company isn't responsible for paying their employees, the public is 😒

[@JovialJewels]

In Canada we raised the minimum wage and made it to tip based workers made the normal minimum wage. It did nothing to get rid of tips, we had the same tipflation.

[@wadestclair249]

If they aren't a tipped worker I don't feel bad not tipping. If workers are making an hourly wage why should they get tipped?

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

A tip should be an appreciation for a job well done, not to keep you from starving.

[@AstroBear11]

​@@bloodymarvelous4790Exactly, people should get 2 tipping jobs. Lol

[@amitpatilamit]

Wth is even tipped worker? It is a US exclusive system corporations came up with to exploit employees and push the expenses on customers so they can keep most of the profit! I can't believe people accepted this as a standard system!

[@urban7514]

When I’m the president elect I’ll eliminate corruption by calling bribes ”tips”.

[@ericcarlson6822]

Actually, SCOTUS already did that, though they used the term "gratuity" in place of tip.

[@Factsmatter626]

We’ve been living in England and Europe since January and while it’s not everywhere tipping is becoming more of a thing here. Jars and tip options on the credit card machine are common. In Italy, cover charges are common. We paid a €3.50 per diner cover charge in Milan and €2.50 in Venice.

[@michaelbuehler3897]

It's just another way to pass the cost on to the consumer.

[@ShaneBlackheart]

As a disabled person who relies on delivery services to survive, tipping is putting me in the red in the bank so often. I can't afford to tip, but I have no choice if I want groceries or food. I feel so guilty and it eats me up inside when I can't afford a good tip, but I do what I can while trying not to screw myself over. Other countries have done away with tipping and do just fine. You know these corporations who ask us to tip can more than afford to pay their workers a living wage. It's greed from the top 1% that's keeping us here.

[@GrimJerr]

If you can't pay people a living wage and stay in business you have an unsustainable business model.

[@kebert2thumbsup]

When i worked aI s a CNA (certified nurses aide), we were not allowed to take tips, or gifts from residents or their family. And we got paid pennies for the work we did. Higher than minimum wage, but still not enough for the back breaking work.

[@colorbugoriginals4457]

If you cannot pay your workers living wages, your business model is not ethically viable.

[@allyhartwell2037]

No mention of Trump's previous attempt to legislate for employers to receive ALL the tips. He will try again ...

[@msmoniz]

I tip table service and delivery but I refuse to tip counter service. Employers refusing to pay properly is the issue, not non-tippers

[@carlamcbride2457]

In the Twin Cities we have businesses mainly restaurants that help workers not rely on just tips so having prices included in the meals to help offset the tipping or lack of costs for employees.

[@whodatninja439]

These people who are like "we live on tips". I don't care. I'm not tipping you for pouring me a black coffee and handing it to me. Or tipping for a water bottle I took myself from the fridge.

[@Mechanical-Animal]

i've seen places asking for a tip for simply putting donuts in a box.

[@sagittated]

How brave of you to not care.

[@Rashald]

Removing taxes on tips seems like such a silly mitigation of the issue. They're treating the symptoms, not the causes.

[@ChrisBCritter2]

IMHO, in a perfect world, a tip *should* never be requested or expected. Even for (shock!) waiters and waitresses... It's evolved greed that upper management would never recognize as such while sipping a martini on their yacht... I lived in Germany for a number of years, and the restaurants LOVED American diners because even a 10% tip was a bonus. They didn't need it to continue working there, and didn't feel offended if you didn't tip. The moment those pay kiosks started popping up with the easy suggested tip buttons, it has given me unease. Not guilt exactly, but the feeling is similar. Still get that feeling every time I'm asked "Would you like to leave a gratuity?"

[@shards0fwords]

I LOVE Troy!

[@MrJctii916]

Most of those tips that you pay at the register didn't even go to the employee....#2 if you're not bringing me my food or water there's no tip

[@Sisteryoda1440]

The food industry in particular has significantly increased the cost of food, and at the same time introduced more venues for asking for tips. It’s an awkward moment for both server and customer. Tips used to be a gratuity for a job well done. Now we are subsidizing the greedy employer who raises prices and pockets the profits. Tips also didn’t used to be taxed, nor should they be when tips to servers is distributed to all the other employees.

[@0liverfarfan65]

Some places are even asking for 30% tips. Corporations have this in order to keep workers working under minimum wage.

[@acevirginian2203]

I don't go to places that expect tips ... maybe once a month when I can't help it.

[@916wetcustoms]

Ya i dont make tax free money at my job so now ... f off no tip

[@IvanRivera-h8n]

Why should a person with the same yearly income from a salary as a waiter made from tips have to pay taxes while the other not? What’s the difference? The most fair thing would be to lower the taxes for that salary level. I even believe that probably most of them currently receive a refund of all their deductions because of their low income anyway.

[@greedowins]

Oregon has a $15 minimum wage, and there has been no consumer relief from the obligation of tips.

[@chrisfox961]

Many other countries have government-provided healthcare. In the US, you must pay for healthcare out of pocket or your employer pays for it as part of your benefits. That is a big difference in employee costs and the costs that people need to pay for a very basic need in our life.

[@liloreoinya]

If you serve me I just top that thing out. 😂 If people won't pay a livable wage I'll do what I can to alleviate some of the burden. I assume tip when I go somewhere with a server. So if I can't afford it I stay home.

[@bjoernfu]

Troy is the Charly Chaplin of our future, his style his mimic is so on point 🤩🤩🤩

[@emmaptokyo]

Hey Troy, you can live in Japan where we live fine getting paid 7 US dollars per hour, no tipping required even at bars or airports, government covers 70 to 90 percent of our healthcare including medication with price cap depending on how much you earn. You must have some relative here where you can stay for free!

[@kevinwatters358]

Tips are the sole reason we don't eat out anymore (cept) fast food. It has gotten out of hand, and I will not have anything delivered or sit in to eat ANYMORE due to this.

[@marmantole]

If I get passed that screen with 20%, 25%, 30% one more F’ing time! I just pay cash now, problem solved.

[@scottyfixit]

Tips were originally a pre-service bribe to make sure you got priority and better service than others. Now it’s being used as an obligated thank you and wage compensation.

[@bigbc5293]

Tips is an acronym "to insure proper service" in British Columbia where I live the minimum wage is over 17 dollars an hour we live in an expensive part of Canada but my wife and I tip well when our for dinner where the server actually served us but now I'm seeing it pop up at coffee shops where the coffee shop worker only rang in my black coffee handed me a cup and I went to a caraf and pumped my own java the machine starts at 25 percent tip goes to 40 percent. Tipflation is real and I know hard working people live off it but the ones that don't actually earn it don't get it from us.

[@MickeyGallagher2245]

If you hate tipping the workers elect leaders to raise the wages but oh yeah you dont want to do that cause inflation well looks pretty bad to me with no raise

[@benjamindiequez115]

I believe the reason tipping is/was a common practice was that restaurants were paying servers, bar tenders, etc. Less than minimum wage and the tips were to bring the income up to at least minimum wage (or higher). Not saying that is right or wrong, it just was the way it was. But now, there are some people making 10, 12, 14 $ an hour (CA) and still tipping is expected. I agree that the minimum wage needs to be increased, but people are already complaining about the cost of things, so how are people going to react when the prices at restaurants go up to make up for the increase in wages. One comment on NOT Taxing tips, I know in the past (probably present as well), tipped workers under reported their tips to avoid paying taxes, which left them with more money in their pockets, however, when a lifetime employee who works in a tipping job goes to retire, the adverse effect of not paying taxes is that you don't pay into social security. So you get to a point where you would like to retire, except your monthly SS benefit is only $600. That is why you see alot of waitresses still working into their 70's because they simply can not afford to not work. I don't claim to know the answer, but as with most problems, there is no clear cut easy solution to this problem.

[@Mavuika_Gyaru]

There's a reason why I pick up my food. Because the cost doubles when you order delivery

[@u4iadreams]

As a self-employed massage therapist, I don't accept tips. If they stop taxing tips, though, I'll be changing my payment structure to be primarily tip based.

[@susanfinn7653]

Instead of tipping, how about we expect corporations to reduce the sizable pay of its top executives and pay a livable wage instead of once again asking everyone else to make up the pay inequality.

[@billy4227]

It's the difference between incentivized work pay and just hourly drudgery. Tipping was always the way hard workers (particularly part-time workers, i.e. students) could maximize their take home pay to hours worked ratio. Companies/owners have been abusing that job market for decades. Less pay and no benefits for part-timers meant increased profits to bottom line.

[@TWICException]

Just get rid of tips. It's a United States problem.

[@9753flyer]

"How Much Should Consumers Have to Pay for Tipflation?" If employers paid a living wage, tipping would not be 'necessary' If your business cannot be profitable without paying a living wage, then your business model is flawed or you are taking too much profit out of the business and should not be in business. For those that say these businesses cannot be profitable while paying a living wage, I point you to the dozens of other countries on the planet where tipping is not required, even frowned upon.. yet the workers make a living wage and the businesses are profitable. You can argue this all you want, reality proves you wrong no matter how much you argue.

[@SteamrunnerTTT1]

A: "Just pay staff a wage they can live on" B: "But margins are so thin, restaurants won't survive and they'll all close!" A: "There will still be demand for restaurants, customers will just have to adjust to paying realistic prices rather than benefitting from the lower prices - prices which are only possible due to restaurants underpaying their staff." B: "...wait that sounds like you're saying I'm complicit in this." A: "Huh. How about that."

[@diannasgardenmenagerie967]

My family just stopped eating out.

[@diegojines-us9pc]

its like this. i dont get tips when i do my job. i get a paycheck just like them.

[@Seelenoede]

As a European, I always wonder: Is it ethical to tip in the US? If I tip, I support a system that incentivizes faster service, over better service. And also has the worker overly reliant on customer generosity than stable income. But if I don't tip, I have to be okay with the service worker having no money at the end of the shift.

[@metrodroid]

I saw a tip system at a merch stand during a drag show in Downtown Orlando. I'm not really sure what I'd be tipping for other than to express empathy for the person who has to stand at the booth for a few hours and hand t-shirts to people who overpaid for a printed-on graphic that'll vanish after a few washes. Maybe if the guy did some backflips or juggled I'd tip him for making the buying experience unique but he just kinda looked at me with disdain the whole time.

[@dee_dee_place]

Tips are a suggestion not mandatory. I NEVER pay tips on the tax. I pay tips only on all the food & drink I order.

[@gingerbread_GB]

For business owner, the question is this: if I raise my menu price by 15-20% to pay the higher wage, and then I spend some more money to advertise to everyone "btw, we don't charge a mandatory tip, you can still tip, just like whatever you feel like." Would I get more customers or less?

[@mromutt]

Don't need to spend money advertising it. At most a sign in the window or by the door saying tipping is not necessary. I would assume at first you would get the same amount of customers, then possibly more if people feel a sense of relief.

[@gingerbread_GB]

@@mromutt This is something I want to try, but it's not that simple. Most people see menus online first. Or through 3rd party platforms. Data collectors like Google only go off menu price, so our price would be marked higher than competitors. Then there's delivery platforms. If we float delivery price up, we'll be not as competitive. If we keep it low, we will essentially drive dine-in customers to online. And the platforms take a big cut. It's doable, there are restaurants in NYC doing it, but it's a lot harder when everyone else is under different assumptions.

[@buckiesmalls]

I was asked for a tip at a gas station/grill, for biscuits and gravy that took her (not blaming her) no more than 30 seconds to scoop up and put in a styrofoam tray. Costed 3 bucks. Let say I gave a dollar. That would be 120 an hour to put premade bread and gravy on a plate.