Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

We allow wages you can't live on but then expect customers to randomly make up the difference but only for some jobs.

Make too little to afford an apartment, healthcare and food and you work in the food service industry? You deserve a tip. You work in a meatpacking plant? Oh, get screwed.

Waiters in the US make more than their peers in: Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, etc.

That's thanks entirely to the tip system.

Got a citation for that? Lots of waiters in the US make $2/hour or something before tips (can anyone correct me here?) where the expectation is that tips will bring them up to $7-8/hour, more in line with other minimum wage jobs.

In California (the most populous state), there is no “tipped minimum wage”. Everyone earns at least $20/hr. In fact, about 1/3 of states don’t allow employers to pay less for tipped employees.

If they get insufficient tips to meet the minimum, the employer makes up the difference. Nobody makes $2/hour.

Right. Are waiters in other countries listed above making less than US federal minimum wage?

Britain has tips. Every restaurant adds 12.5% as an 'optional' charge but they know full well that Brits are allergic to causing a fuss and will never ask it to be removed.

Do US waiters really get paid more than UK with PPP/forex? You seem to have the data to hand.

This ignores how feast-and-famine tipping is; there's a high ceiling for potential earning, but it's not always a reliable income; and this also ignores how only those working in front-line service roles benefit.

Are you the kitchen hand washing dishes? Are you the chef or cook who makes the meals and food that the customers eat? Are you a cleaner mopping the floors after business hours? Nope - none of you get a tip, unless the restaurant has a policy of collecting all tips and redistributing them to all employees. But how often does that happen? It's really easy to just pocket the tip and keep it for yourself.

Oh wow really, 2/3 of states let employers pay below minimum wage for tipped employees?

Back in 2008 my sister would easily make $200 a night working at Red Lobster in a town of 80,000. That was just the tips, not wages. Prices have probably doubled now, along with the tips.

Very few waiters are making as little as you say. Just think of what you pay as a tip for one table for 2-4 people and remember they’re handling quite a few tables at a time. Quite often if they get a bachelors degree and the attached salaried job they take a significant pay cut, but the hours are better for having a family.

Seattle is allegedly about on par with London CoL wise.

Min wage for tipped workers is $17.25 per hour. London is ~$18. So with exorbitant tipping it should be considerably higher?

Also taxes might be lower.

> will bring them up to $7-8/hour

Maybe 20 years ago? Almost nobody in the US is making that little these days regardless of the Federal minimum wage.

And in nicer states you get $15-20 + tips.

Do costumers in Washington, California, New York etc. tip less, the same or even more than in those other states?

> Waiters in the US make more than their peers in: Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, etc.

That seems unlikely - do you have any figures to back that up?

> Britain has tips. Every restaurant adds 12.5% as an 'optional' charge but they know full well that Brits are allergic to causing a fuss and will never ask it to be removed.

That "service charge" is usually (mandated?) listed on the menu, so it would lead to quite an awkward conversation if you then complained after sitting and eating the meal. It's quite often specified for groups over a certain size and it makes more sense than getting into a "tipping" argument after the meal.