May you all have peace!
Tipping: (The subject of this thread)... (1) Should be completely voluntary and based on one's perception of the service one received and NOT the amount of the meal; (2) should not be a way for certain employers to avoid paying taxes or decent wages; and (3) is only mandatory (per se) to "cover" for those who wouldn't tip if it were purely voluntary and employers weren't so... well, yeah, I'll say it: cheap. Americans cry foul when they have to pay higher taxes to cover the emergency health care for the poor, but apparently don't have a problem covering low- or no-tippers... or scamming employers. Which is so... well, "American" of us... isn't it?
(BTW - Dining out is not always a "luxury" - for me, it is often a necessity, as since I often work a 50-60/hour week - as required by MY employers - I sometimes just don't have the time... or energy... to cook. What apparently IS a "luxury" for some of us, however, is healthcare).
Healthcare: (Since someone brought it up)... We do not "have Medicare and Medicaid" for the poor. Medicare covers seniors... regardless of whether they are poor or not. Medicaid covers low- to extremely low-incomed citizens ONLY. What, however, about the not-so-poor? My daughter (now age 32) is NOT covered by either as, at one time, she made "too much." BUT... she was refused coverage by every insurance company she has applied to (and I know, because I did her applications for her; I thought, surely, she can't be telling me the truth; SOMEONE will cover her! Yeah, right!)... because she has a "preexisting condition" - she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian disease when she was 24. Which means that if she wants children she will need medical assistance... and since she's at "childbearing" age, no insurance wants that, ummmmm... "obligation." Nevermind that she might have some other medical need. So, what could she do? She had to put money in an account - an HSA, I believe it's called - which she could draw down from to pay medical bills. And so, she was putting about $500/month in, so that at the end of any given year she would have about $6,000. Unfortunately, this didn't cover ONE visit to the emergency room the year she opened the account when one of the cysts burst, causing damage to a ovary and fallopian tube... which required surgery... as well as being off work for several weeks. Considering that she was self-employed (i.e., no workie, no payie)... the total cost was over $35,000. Wiped out her little account, that did... as well as her savings... as well as left her with a whopping bill that she STILL has not paid off... AS WELL AS... an even greater inability to get insurance (the one company that would cover her want over $1,200/month!!). NOW... she has NOTHING in the way of medical "coverage" - no account, no savings, AND no incurance coverage. And so, sadly, I don't have high hopes for a grandchild from her... although it COULD be done.
Freudian Slip: Looks like it... but still works. I can be a "soothing" slave, too - !
Again, peace to you all!
A slave of Christ (who "couldn't" sleep),
SA