[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

since this thread is going off the rails a tad, does that same cashier get to have the newest iphone? lululemon? cuz shit all I see is that stuff with all these jobs. Sure give them more money, wont change their lifestyle

edit: some people do need that money....but most abuse and thrive in america

[c1pher]

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/etiq...ut-should.html
Who determines someone is an etiquette expert? Anyway, this one has always perplexed me. The hotel pays the staff to clean. Unless you’re totally destroying the room or did a porn video shoot, I’m not sure why you tip the cleaning staff.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

You are an enigma then since those two things are mutually exclusive.

Some people who “have money” may not actually be as wealthy as you might think if they are already taking care of their kids and elderly adults, plus a larger home to house them all and transportation, food etc. I think it’s great if you want to give your money to others but I feel that’s an individual decision and shouldn’t be foisted on others. The best way to redistribute wealth in my opinion is to create opportunities for people who are motivated to change their situation. Just giving people money doesn’t always solve the problem.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Some people who “have money” may not actually be as wealthy as you might think if they are already taking care of their kids and elderly adults, plus a larger home to house them all and transportation, food etc. I think it’s great if you want to give your money to others but I feel that’s an individual decision and shouldn’t be foisted on others. The best way to redistribute wealth in my opinion is to create opportunities for people who are motivated to change their situation. Just giving people money doesn’t always solve the problem.

Forced charity isn't charity.

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by c1pher

The best way to redistribute wealth in my opinion is to create opportunities for people who are motivated to change their situation. Just giving people money doesn’t always solve the problem.

Try never. Giving money breeds dependence and entitlement.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Now that I am prompted for a tip everywhere I go - I pretty much just stopped tipping and have reduced my tips at restaurants to 15%.

I don't tip for anything else, ever, anymore. I used to tip the Starbucks barista a few dollars but now that they are extorting us, that stopped completely.

Anyone else? Seems like these fast food workers are making six figures now

I just stopped eating out -
My wife and I just prefer to eat at home. Gone are the days when you could go out to any causal sitdown and walk out for around $20-30. Most places are now $20PP for food cooked by the head chef GE Microwave, using the lowest quality ingredients.

Even then, when we do eat out - 20% is the max. If I'm picking up, why am I tipping?

[3.0L]

I tip well at my favorite restaurants. One in particular is at an airport. We always get seated right away, and at a window table. The table often has a "Reserved" sign, but I don't make reservations there. You get the picture, I'm sure.

[flybigjet]

It's not just you.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Truth.

Here in New Yorkistan, you can actually save over 8% if they hand you an unsliced bagel and your choice of toppings to assemble yourself. The act of slicing said bagel makes it a prepared food for sales tax purposes, where an unsliced bagel is a grocery item not subject to sales tax.....

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Here in New Yorkistan, you can actually save over 8% if they hand you an unsliced bagel and your choice of toppings to assemble yourself. The act of slicing said bagel makes it a prepared food for sales tax purposes, where an unsliced bagel is a grocery item not subject to sales tax.....

So THAT'S where Cali got the idea I used to not pay tax on food in a restaurant.

[lordnikon]

Tipping seems out of control. Employers should pay their waitstaff more rather than them relying on tips.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by lordnikon

Tipping seems out of control. Employers should pay their waitstaff more rather than them relying on tips.

Could that not be said of any employer? I have yet to hear about an employee that was satisfied with the salary they agreed to when they were hired. That's not to say there should not be raises for exemplary work.

[lordnikon]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Could that not be said of any employer? I have yet to hear about an employee that was satisfied with the salary they agreed to when they were hired. That's not to say there should not be raises for exemplary work.

They're two different things. Tipping is done by the customer. Employees who do exemplary work get raises or bonuses by their employer. Why can't this apply to waitstaff in general? Because they're paid shit.

Now tipping is not even seen as optional

[lordnikon]

Originally Posted by M2siast

Strange for a guy from Toronto to say waitstaff are paid shit.
How much should they be paid? $30/hr? 50?

I didn't realize this discussion was about Canada.

[flybigjet]

So-- last night the Minister of War & Finance went to Taylor Swift (front row seats in the first row off the center stage w/ 73,000 people-- it helps that my sister in law is one of the TS dancers).

Wife wants something to drink, so we stand in line and get her a lemonade seltzer (ugh-- but options were limited).

Almost $19 for the drink-- and the person behind the bar (who LITERALLY picked up the can, handed it to us, and put the sale into the computer) spins the screen around after approximately 10 seconds of work......

..... and there is the "Tip Amount"-- STARTING at 20% and going up from there.

WTF? This is insane.

R.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Could that not be said of any employer? I have yet to hear about an employee that was satisfied with the salary they agreed to when they were hired. That's not to say there should not be raises for exemplary work.

inflation over the past 3 years is FAR outpacing any wage growth for most folks... not sure how this ends...

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by ASAP

inflation over the past 3 years is FAR outpacing any wage growth for most folks... not sure how this ends...

The forth box?

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by ASAP

inflation over the past 3 years is FAR outpacing any wage growth for most folks... not sure how this ends...

Totally agree with that. I've had to use my brokerage account dividends (about $15K/year) for the last 14 months to offset the impact of inflation on our household. I've gotten 3% to 8% raises and good bonuses during this timeframe but we're still out spending what we make. We don't live an extravagant life either and we haven't bought any major things except for my 2011 Cayman which I paid cash for through saving a little bit of my bonuses over the past 10 years.

Food costs, home/auto/health insurance, and home property tax have all had big impacts on us.

The biggest issue I see with this is big business. They got real real comfy with stellar big profits shortly after COVID and them figuring out how to manage the storm along with the government assistance for both business and consumers. Greedflation really took hold in business and they can't let it go. They aren't willing to have a bad a year and will push the consumer absolutely as far as possible.

I really don't see how the majority in this country can afford to buy a new and newer used car or purchase a home. It's really out of hand.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Totally agree with that. I've had to use my brokerage account dividends (about $15K/year) for the last 14 months to offset the impact of inflation on our household. I've gotten 3% to 8% raises and good bonuses during this timeframe but we're still out spending what we make. We don't live an extravagant life either and we haven't bought any major things except for my 2011 Cayman which I paid cash for through saving a little bit of my bonuses over the past 10 years.

Food costs, home/auto/health insurance, and home property tax have all had big impacts on us.

The biggest issue I see with this is big business. They got real real comfy with stellar big profits shortly after COVID and them figuring out how to manage the storm along with the government assistance for both business and consumers. Greedflation really took hold in business and they can't let it go. They aren't willing to have a bad a year and will push the consumer absolutely as far as possible.

I really don't see how the majority in this country can afford to buy a new and newer used car or purchase a home. It's really out of hand.

That's exactly right... I can't say I am in this position but I see, hear and feel how it's affecting a vast majority of the population... not seeing that means you could be delusional or just don't care.

This is extremely poor government policy at play now and how Covid in general was handled...

The way I see it, 2 things can happen in the future-

1) Inflation continues to rise and the government just continues to throw fuel on the fire by more absurd asset pricing growth. This will just further grow the divide between the poor and the rich... this will be needed to prevent a real recession.

2) We have a major recession on our hands where a ton of people lose jobs and we get a complete reset.

The government will do everything it can to prevent option 2 from happening and will always fall back to option 1 because they are for the most part crooks... either option does not have a good short term resolution but both are VERY bad outcomes for a vast majority of people but option 1 saves the wealthier folks...

If ONLY the fed didn't play political games for the last 10 years, had done their job correctly and Congress did anything to prevent all out Greed... we would all be in a much better and more competitive spot... those days are now long gone... not sure how the future of the US economy looks like. If median HHI in 10 years is 70k but we have another 10 years of inflation... RIP everyone.

[Streetdaddy]

Bought take out pizza last night. They already added 10% tip and had an add extra tip line on top of that!

[rebekahb]

Yesterday, I went to lunch, was handed the bill, looked at the total and paid with a CC. I looked at the CC receipt and noticed the CC charge was different than the original total. Finally found the 4% charge buried at the bottom. Won’t be eating there or will be paying cash.

I’m don’t tipping at kiosks. I’ve been mulling this over in my head recently because it feels everywhere I go now a tip is asked for. I don’t mind tipping for great service especially if it’s somewhere we frequent.

Someone mentioned salads pages back. How in the hell have we gone to $15-$20+ for lettuce with nothing real special on it?

Bar drinks. Over this craft cocktail bullshit of let me create this fancy drink with a undermeasured 1oz of total alcohol for a $15-$20 drink. I don’t need a three finger pour but if you’re going to make a drink at least make it worth the insane price.

I don’t know how the middle class is going to make it much longer especially down where I live. The amount of hurricanes LA took back to back had insurers either go bankrupt or pull out of the state. For ex, our insurer pulled out so we had the grand choice of 2 companies to choose. One company was a $3800 increase/year and the other was $7600/year. Same coverage. We’ve heard of many people trying to sell their homes but what in the hell do you buy when interest rates are around 6.5-7+ %? I guess the point of this was pile this added cost up with having to send your kids to private school, food cost increases, etc.

Honestly, I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to eat out much anymore. I truly enjoy going out and having a nice meal but starting to limit it. My husband can make a killer steak on the green egg and I can drink wine or make a cocktail at home much more affordably.

That covers my thoughts on the last 11 pages

[Alfisti]

Absolutely stunned at Americans on this board suddenly realsing there's hidden fees in your food bill. I'd say 30% of the time I sit down for food in the US there's a random tip already assigned and has been or eons, you guys were just not paying attention.

Said it before and will say it again, this culture of hiding fees in the US and Canada is infuriating to someone who is used to the sticker price being the sticker price. Taxes, more taxes, eco fees, disposal fees, tips, service fees etc ..... does my head in. The listed price is merely a suggestion.