or maybe let's not play guessing games with the livelihood of people working in these fields, and let's bake a livable wage in the price... like any other service job ?
Except no other service job does. Outside of a patchwork of local ordinances here and there, few servers makes beyond the state/federal minimum wage without tips. A minimum wage which is almost always below the poverty line.
I live in Oregon and employees here make a minimum of $14.70/hour and $15.95 in the Portland Metro area before tips. California and Washington have slightly higher minimums, seemingly state-wide. There are other states listed that are not as generous.
I tip but am sympathetic to my relatives who don't. Many places expect you to pay and tip, then take your drinks and food to the table, bus your tables, etc.
The dollar amount doesn't matter if it doesn't add up to a living wage. $15 an hour at 40 hours a week is 31,200 annual before taxes. Is that a living wage in Oregon?
The comment rears like "This is impossible to do in the US", while it is commonplace in many countries around the world. And of course, there are also many countries where it's more shaded (in Germany you don't need to tip, but it is definitely appreciated and it's leaning a bit more towards the US, but still far away from it)
