>>>what is your opinion of unions who fight for exemptions from the very political/economic causes (minimum wage, ACA, etc.) they claim to align with politically???
>
>Do you think the US tipping culture has an effect on wages and expectations?
>
>For clarity: apart from 1% enclaves, in most of the First World there's no expectation of a tip for your bar person or server. Or anybody else for that matter. In a restaurant you pay the price on the menu that also usually includes sales tax, and that's it. Sometimes you choose to tip a particularly good server, but that's entirely discretionary.

Would not go that far, but tips in the States are much higher than over here. Paying ***exact*** price in a restaurant usually means that guest is not happy - but anything over 10% is not typical, if somebody pays more than 15% he is drunk and/or wants to impress (not the service personal). Some variation on bell curves found in different countries of europe. Tip usually is for the whole crew, including those not visible in the kitchen.