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Originally Posted by punky
No, it isn't. That is only if the tips exceed the federal minimum wage of $5.15. Look at this quote from the link you provided:
I.e. no tipped employee will ever take home less than $5.15 an hour. The direct minimum wage can be set at 1c an hour, but if the tips don't exceed the federal minimum wage, then the employer will have to make up the difference of $5.14. Either way, service industry staff are garanteed at least $5.15 per hour for their work, and times when employers have to make up the difference are extremely few and far between.
You can't just say they earn £2.92, how terrible... everything else is cheaper so they are still 'richer'. A 2L bottle of Coca-cola (branded) is 89c... that's 52p, compared with the £1.25 at least you pay here. Like I said, my younger brother earns less than me, but the money goes much further. Its the ecomomy.
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I did read the page I quoted.
I did not say that bartenders go home with next to no money in their pockets, I was pointing out that the bartender's employer is obliged only to pay him a very small amount, because the bartender can make a decent amount from tips. So, because the customers are effectively paying the bartender his wages directly, the wage bill to the business is low, therefore they can charge less for their goods, hence you go to a bar, get your drinks, realise it's really cheap and then feel flush enough to give a generous tip.
As for the coca cola ... I don't imagine the people who work in the factory that makes it get tips. I don't suppose the shelf stackers down at Wal Mart do either. And if they take home anything like as little as £2.92 per hour, it's no wonder a 2l bottle is so cheap.
Don't get me wrong, I know the US economy is the world's biggest and I know Americans are comparitively richer - but having been over there and seen how it works, I do think it's easy for an outsider to overestimate the difference.
Incidentally ... average annual holiday entitlement in the US is something like 2 weeks, excluding public holidays. I get five weeks, plus extra for long service. A colleague of mine who went to work at our office over there had to fight to retain the holiday allowance she had over here and to this day has to keep very quiet about it as she has so many more days off than everyone she now works with. I value my time and frankly I'm prepared to stay here, earn less, and have a life outside the office.
