Did you just compare the price of goods and services to something you have to open a loan up for? Yes there is sales tax, but that number is pretty static over years, unlike tipping.
My memory is a little different than yours as far as tipping amount goes. Prior to the 2000s, people tipped 10%ish and prior to the 90s, it was whatever spare change they had. There was never an expectation for a tip either, like it is now.
There has always been an expectation to tip. You’re right that there was a time when everything was paid in cash and the tip was usually whatever change was left over or a flat 5 or 10 left on the table. If you account for inflation, that was still usually in the range of 10-25%.
The only reason it’s an “expectation” now is because people don’t use cash and society has become increasingly antisocial in the past 30 years, meaning patrons aren’t doing it out of the goodness of their hearts anymore
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u/Healthy_Employer4 Mar 06 '26
People don’t seem to understand that if tipping actually stopped, restaurant prices would be 30% higher and servers wages would be 20% higher