Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Few topics are outrageous & sanctimonious at the same time, but any discussion of tipping certainly is. The idea that there is undeclared additional expense on a purchase is not only championed by every Living Wage scold, but also contrary to Contract law. It's certainly counter egalitarian, not to mention the tax issues. To think that the person with direct customer access can exploit that position, while other more important contributors to the enterprise suck wind, is absolutely stunning. And the public guilt aspect, self-interested moralizing, shrill superiority, appeal to charity, and demand on customer courtesy moves tipping into its own realm of unpleasantness. The odiousness of the practice actually makes the food taste worse.

Tipping is also a way for The Wealthy to flaunt their disdain for money, and publicly display their largess towards The Little People, then the rest of us get dragged into their perverse orbit, and end up competing among ourselves for who gave away the most money for the least amount of effort. I don't go anywhere that requires tipping. In fact, if I see a "Tip Jar" on the counter, I put my merchandise down & go somewhere else. Tipping is something America does but is nowhere else in the world. What makes it doubly-obscene is that foreign waitstaff expect only Americans to tip. Luckily, in the Pacific Northwest at least, it's becoming fashionable for restaurant chains to switch to higher prices, higher wages for everyone, and no tipping.