> Nonsense. Tipping is an implied contract between customer and server.
Nonsense yourself. If that were so, your waiter would have legal recourse against any customer who did not pay his/her tip. And you would have — spelled out — the terms by which tips were to be paid, and the rate that was to be applied.
Nothing like a contract, implied or otherwise.
> In this respect, the waiter is an independent contractor, like a hair-stylist.
Hardly. I cannot discipline a waiter who serves me poorly, except for docking his tip. I do not get to interview him to see if he is suitable for the job. And I don’t have exclusive claim on his services while he is serving me.
> That’s as far from charity as you can get.
It’s charity. It’s money for free for doing nothing more than what they are already paid to do. Do they get paid less than minimum wage? More the fool them: they need to take that up with their employers. It is not my responsibility to pay an establishment’s staff: that risk belongs to the establishment’s owners.
> I think it’s funny reading your thoughts on this, because the restaurant biz, in the US, is one of the few no-holds-barred bastions of true capitalism left.
In what way is Charity a form of Capitalism?
> There are few purer, untainted marketplace relationships than diner/waiter.
How so? It is an exploitative relationship between the restauranteur and the waiter, and it is a charitable relationship between the diner and the waiter: neither of those are “Capitalism”.
He can't tell if you're a cheapskate, a demanding, unreasonable jerk beforehand either. And if he spends all his time with another table, he might reasonably expect you to give him less.
It’s charity. It’s money for free for doing nothing more than what they are already paid to do. Do they get paid less than minimum wage? More the fool them: they need to take that up with their employers. It is not my responsibility to pay an establishment’s staff: that risk belongs to the establishment’s owners.
Wait staff in the US gets half of minimum wage, which used to be $2.13/hr. In addition, the IRS assumes that waiters take in at least 8% of their total sales as tip income and are liable for any income taxes due on that income.
So, the US is not the same as NZ in this respect, apparently.
How so? It is an exploitative relationship between the restauranteur and the waiter, and it is a charitable relationship between the diner and the waiter: neither of those are “Capitalism”.
The restauranteur provides a "house" in which the waiter plies his trade. He provides enough "wage" to satisfy withholding requirements to keep the IRS off his subcontractors' backs while they hustle to make as much money for themselves, and by extension, their employer, as possible.
Like a hooker, or a hairstylist...