Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tips
This may seem like it's coming out of left field, but: I don't believe in a system that involves tips. When I say tips, I mean the petty change we give to the people who serve us food at restaurants, or pump our gas, or deliver pizza to our doors.
Perhaps I've been thinking about this since giving tips in Egypt is a daily occurrence. Everyone expects tips for everything. If someone so much as helps you park your car into a tight space, you tip him. I'm not too fond of the practice - not because I'm cheap (although I probably am), but because the concept of it is somewhat offensive.
I believe in a system where everyone is paid adequately for the work that he or she does, and therefore does not require tips to enhance his/her paycheck. If that means that I automatically get charged an extra 12% service fee at a restaurant, that's fine. If it means that my taxes are a bit higher in order to help small businesses pay their employees a decent wage, that's also fine. I'd rather pay slightly higher prices for goods, than be required to tip people at the end of my experience.
I don't know why I find the practice demeaning to both the giver and receiver of said tips, but it is. Then again, paying higher prices probably just means that the owners of the company will pocket the extra dough. I think that's the essential problem - some people really can't afford life without tips since their employers don't pay them adequately at all. And I don't think "minimum wage" is really upheld here.
Anyway, my point is that the government sucks, and that trickles down onto everything else, making everything else suck as well. Extra points awarded for eloquence.
Perhaps I've been thinking about this since giving tips in Egypt is a daily occurrence. Everyone expects tips for everything. If someone so much as helps you park your car into a tight space, you tip him. I'm not too fond of the practice - not because I'm cheap (although I probably am), but because the concept of it is somewhat offensive.
I believe in a system where everyone is paid adequately for the work that he or she does, and therefore does not require tips to enhance his/her paycheck. If that means that I automatically get charged an extra 12% service fee at a restaurant, that's fine. If it means that my taxes are a bit higher in order to help small businesses pay their employees a decent wage, that's also fine. I'd rather pay slightly higher prices for goods, than be required to tip people at the end of my experience.
I don't know why I find the practice demeaning to both the giver and receiver of said tips, but it is. Then again, paying higher prices probably just means that the owners of the company will pocket the extra dough. I think that's the essential problem - some people really can't afford life without tips since their employers don't pay them adequately at all. And I don't think "minimum wage" is really upheld here.
Anyway, my point is that the government sucks, and that trickles down onto everything else, making everything else suck as well. Extra points awarded for eloquence.
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