Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Chris T
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 log 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.  |
The converse view would be to say: I work in the UK and earn loads more; of course, everything else costs lots more, and I can't buy nearly as much, but at least I get it in the first place!
People may earn less over there, but their houses cost less to rent/buy, cars cost less, fuel costs less, food costs less, clothes cost less... etc etc The pay is merely a factor.