Trump cheats at golf - the ONE and ONLY politics thread

If only Little Marco was still around for a Slurpee reference.

 

In my world (the real one), employers pay employees and employees work for employers. Sub-minimum wages, unless negotiated in return for other compensation, should not be allowed.

 

That's because you're just focusing on who hands what money to who. Firms act as middlemen between customers and suppliers (including laborers). This is an inarguable fact. Oddly enough, few had ever thought much about this until Ronald Coase did. Many consider his The Nature of the Firm (1937) to be right up there in importance with The Wealth of Nations.

 

That fine. I understand what you're saying in terms of economic theory. Still, employers are the people who hire the employees, with whom employees negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment and who profit from employees' labor. If you can provide sound reasoning for why waiters' base salaries need to be less than the established minimum standards, I'm happy to listen. I'm not suggesting gratuities for good service (taking the middle man out?) should be eliminated.

 

I think you're wrong; he overhauled his staff over the weekend, bringing in adults who know how to win campaigns (well, except for the guy who ran Walker's aborted disaster). They are going to spend $20 million of Trumpcash, mostly in the final battleground of California. That's going for it, IMO.

 

21 years since the OKC bombing? Man, that seems like yesterday.

 

Surely a study has been done somewhere on this.

Does the typical waiter/waitress make more or less than minimum wage (including tips, and all things considered)?

If it's more, what's the problem? And since tips often wind up being tax free . . . seems hard to fathom that they aren't doing better than minimum wage.

Anyone have any actual numbers on this?

 

There is an insanely vast disparity between the income of waiters and bartenders. Some in NYC, SF, Boston etc. easily make 6 figures and work 3 or 4 nights a week. Some in the Dennys or Friendlys in BFE probably make just a little more than minimum wage.

 

If you'd be so kind as to point out where I've actually come close to making that argument ...

 

Let me remind you that the only point I was making and the one with which you chose to quibble was this:

All things considered, I don't think employers should be able to pay wait staff a sub-minimum wage because they receive tips. It doesn't make sense.

If your intention was simply to inject an arcane side argument into the discussion, I will stipulate that you're a very educated person who has studied economic theory. Gold star for you!

 

Um, I'm pretty sure the only way tips are "tax free" is if the tippee commits tax fraud.

I can only speak for myself, but I delivered pizza for tips for a long time, while also making $5/hour and pocketing the delivery charge of 75 cents per. On a typical Friday or Saturday night, I'd walk out of there with $400 cash in my pocket for six hours of work.

 

For someone whose bread's buttered as yours is, I suspect it's not making sense (which the wages-plus-tips regime clearly doesn't) is a trivial consideration. Having one target (the restaurant) is much more convenient than having two (the restaurant and the customer). Far better to route all portions of the transaction through one entity so as to make a quicker, cleaner claim.

I see you've taken your happy pill today ...