- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.ca
- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.ca
Summary
Tipping in U.S. restaurants has dropped to 19.3%, the lowest in six years, driven by frustration over rising menu prices and increased prompts for tips in non-traditional settings.
Only 38% of consumers tipped 20% or more in 2024, down from 56% in 2021, reflecting tighter budgets.
Diners are cutting back on outings, spending less, and tipping less. Some restaurants are adding service fees, further reducing tips.
Worker advocacy groups are pushing to eliminate the tipped-wage system, while the restaurant industry warns these shifts hurt business and employees.
Key cities like D.C. and Chicago are phasing in higher minimum wages for tipped workers.
Right, it’s assuming he keeps that particular promise, but it was a proposal so seemingly popular that Harris’s team adopted a version of it but with restrictions on what kind of tips would be exempt (I think it was restricted to waitstaff or something along those lines). Trump’s version is so much more open to abuse that it could be used as a sort of wink wink nudge nudge way to avoid taxes if you simply agreed to pay in part as a “tip”. Given the popularity among those who rely on tips to live and also the rich who can find ways to use it intentionally to avoid taxes, I feel like it’s not impossible that Trump would actually go through with it.