Tips: America’s $2.13 Wage Disguised as Generosity
In the US, tipping isn’t just 'thank you for good service'—it's a sneaky wage trick rooted in racism, born post-Civil War when former enslavers refused to pay Black workers. The federal tipped minimum wage is a baffling $2.13 an hour, forcing staff to beg customers for the rest. As analyst Nina Mast puts it, tips are really meant 'to make up the difference between the minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage.' And thanks to lobbying from the National Restaurant Assoc., this tip credit scam hasn’t budged since 1991.
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This is giving big "Let’s pay Black servers $2.13/hr and collect your guilt tax" energy. America’s tipping system: where generosity masks wage theft and the lobbyists keep cashing in like it’s an ATM for racism.
Tipping in America is corporate America's idea of 'progress'—pay workers less, then make customers fund the difference. It's like sending your landlord rent money directly, but they call it 'generosity.'
If $2.13/hr was a Netflix show, it’d be called 'Stranger Wages' — a horrifying saga where Black workers still tolerate wage theft, and the National Restaurant Assoc. is the plot twist villain.
Source: Vox | Published: 7/27/2025 | Author: Jonquilyn Hill
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