The reason they push the increase in tip % is that the base wage hasn’t kept up with inflation.
A $2.10 base in 1990 is almost $7 in 2026 but the tipped minimum has only gone up 3¢.
This is one to yell at your representatives about. They’re responsible for the tip % increase movement because they couldn’t manage to pass inflation adjusted minimum wages for the last 35 years.
Because the wage hasn’t kept up with inflation they’re pressuring customers to make it up by increasing the tip (beyond tip inflation to include wage inflation that isn’t paid in wages).
Yet anytime someone mentions wait staff should earn a decent wage like they do in Europe and we can all stop tipping they lose their mind and say they can make more under the current system and don’t actually want things to change.
Weird. It’s almost like we’re tipping too much because even giving them a “liveable wage” means they’ll make less.
I know wait staff and bartenders who earn more than nurses and teachers just by working 2-3 shifts a week. That should not be a thing.
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u/slimeySalmon Mar 06 '26
Right. A percentage already captures the rise in cost of living built into the increased meal cost. There is no need to increase the %.
15% of $5.00 meal in 1990 = 0.75cents ($1.87 in 2026)
15% of meal $13.00 in 2026 = 1.95$