Should We Tip Minimum Wage Workers?
Just when everyone thought the Democratic Party was leaving South Dakota, it appears that a few white liberals are still trying to throw money at unsolvable problems. Making welfare checks fatter or handing out more free food seems like a good idea to help people who are down and out. Raising the minimum wage is another perennial misguided liberal effort.
Minimum wage earners should follow the example of Laura Sumner who appeared in the local newspaper’s article about possibly raising the hourly standard. She worked at the Pet Pantry store in Rapid City for six years on minimum wage. This lifestyle was apparently good enough back then. But when a son came along, she pulled herself up by the bootstraps to now own the store. Necessity itself was the motivating factor.
Some people tend to be at at the bottom because of bad lifestyle choices earlier in life. Wasting time in school, partying with friends, and watching trashy shows on television was good enough for them. Others came from equally dysfunctional families who got by on welfare and food stamps, taking no time to help their children with homework or take them to church.
In short, there will always be some people on the bottom of the social matrix. Even if you lined up all the millionaires in South Dakota, someone would be on the bottom, another on the top. The same with minimum wage. Unless every state has exactly the same, then some state will be the lowest, relatively speaking.
Perhaps deserving minimum wage workers should all wear badges that say “I’M A MINIMUM WAGE WORKER. TIPS APPRECIATED.” Why give automatic tips to already well-paid upscale restaurant waiters and waitresses? Giving should be direct, from person to person, not forced through taxation, coerced out of sheer habit at restaurants, or anonymously donated to some abstract charity organization.
Better yet, give some money directly from your wallet to anyone you spot who is deserving and seems to need it, especially those who aren’t asking for a handout.
Laura Sumner is the manager of the Pet Pantry in Rapid City. Being the owner is the next step in gaining the financial security she now needs. I have no doubt that she’ll be successful, having served an “apprenticeship” for six years as a minimum wage worker. Had she received a token hourly increase during those years, she might well have been stuck at the bottom of the wage scale forever.
Why require any wage at all? Enough of having some abstract restaurant owner act as a middleman. Let everyone work as an independent contractor. The Firehouse Brewing Company shouldn’t write anyone check. After finishing supper, customers should walk through the Firehouse writing separate checks to their hostess, their server, the cooks, the cleaning staff, and the management. That would be much more fair and efficient.
Cory, competition is a wonderful tool. If the Firehouse Brewing Company cannot get enough workers, then they have to do something to attract workers. This involves a wage and benefits. We do not need a minimum wage to do this. I am willing to bet you there are wait people out there who would not mind working as an IC. They probably believe they could do better. I know in the sales field, the best salespeople would rather have 0 salary and total commission.