By Mike Bibb
I'm not opposed to tipping someone for the efforts they expend when taking and delivering a food order at a local restaurant, or any other product requiring a delivery person.
Good, friendly service necessitates a reward.
However, the amount of a tip should be decided by the customer — not automatically calculated by a handheld computer tablet and added to the bill.
For instance, the wife and I have dined in several establishments where, upon completion of the meal the waitress scans our bank card and hands us a tablet to sign.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
Except, before signing an array of tipping options appear on the screen as percentages of the total bill — not in dollar amounts.
As an example, say the amount of two meals was $27.46. A $3.00 tip would be about 11% of the original bill.
New total: $30.46.
However, the tablet's tipping options begin at 15-18% of the bill, and increases from there.
So, the $27.46 meal, with the computer calculated tip, automatically escalates to a minimum of $31.58 to $32.40.
Representing a $4.12 to $4.94 tip — for the same two meals.
Now, let's consider the actual time and effort it took for the waitress/waiter to record and deliver the two-meal order — not including kitchen preparation time.
Does 7 minutes seem logical; 10, at the most?
A 10-minute total order and delivery time @ $4.94 would represent $29.64 per hour (10 x 6 @ $4.94 = $29.64).
This amount is above the hourly wage the waitress/waiter receives.
Of course, the more expensive the order, the more expensive the requested tip, even though the actual order and delivery time may be nearly identical.
A equal reduction in meal price would result in a similar reduction in tip, but it is still 15-18% of whatever the bill's amount.
Additionally, the waitress/waiter probably has multiple orders and deliveries going on at the same time.
An added benefit, tips — and overtime pay — are now supposed to be federally tax exempt.
Before you grab the torches and pitchforks and come looking for me, keep in mind I retired from the package delivery business. Consequently, I know a little about pickup and delivery procedures, even though the products are different.
I didn't wait tables and schlep Moons-Over-My-Hammy, green chili burros, mixed drinks or hand Big Mac's out a drive-through window.
Instead, I drove a delivery van about 180 miles a day, hand carried or used a two-wheeled dolly to transport parcels from the van to homes and business in Southeast Arizona.
Packaged weights ranged from 1 pound to 150 pounds. I performed this task for about 10-11 hours a day, at about 100 different locations.
Christmas season stops and packages increased considerably.
During my 25 years, I can't recall a single monetary tip for my efforts. During Christmas, there were occasional goodies and treats a customer would hand me, but other than that, I had few gifted coins in my pocket to contribute to a retirement fund.
Like the post office, drivers accepting tips may not have been allowed, as it was never discussed.
Point is, tipping is a choice of the customer — not an expectation by the person performing the delivery task.
But, since waitresses/waiters are traditionally expected to receive a gratuity, then they should continue to receive them as, I expect, it is an important part of their earnings.
Which prompts me to wonder, if tips and overtime are now exempt from federal taxes, then why isn't an individual's regular wages and salary also except?
Why should eight hours of a work day be taxed, when overtime and tips are not? Aren't they all part of the same daily grind?
Wouldn't it make just as much sense to tax only four hours, or two, or 30 minutes?
Maybe, because our current income taxing system is a sham. Originally, conceived and passed into a law as a tax on company and corporate incomes (profits and gains), it has been allowed to morph into a discombobulated mess of rules and regulations of various descriptions and categories to such an extent that an ordinary citizen working for a wage or salary is now held liable for payment of an "income tax," even though he/she has received no income.
Predictably, many of these mandates change every year, further confusing the situation. What was "taxable" one year may be taxed differently the next.
Case in point; auto loan interest on a new car is deductible this year — but only if the vehicle is made in the U.S. Foreign made cars and trucks, even if financed through U.S. banks and credit unions, are not eligible.
Thousands of IRS tax pages are incomprehensible, mumble-jumbled new-speak, and the procedures of trying to comply are equally confusing.
What other Constitutional Amendment, besides the 16th, can change, flex, bend, be altered, dictated, ignored and physically compelled without Congressional approval or Supreme Court intervention?
The only Constitutional Amendment to be repealed was the 18th (intoxicating liquors). The 21st Amendment restored a person's right to legally have a beer or a shot of Jim Beam.
As a result, if consuming beer, wine and whiskey is legal again, then why is imposing an income tax on an individual's personal wage or salary still required?
Remember, it's called an "Income tax" for a reason. It is not labeled a "Wage and Salary tax," for an equally important reason (Art. 1, Sec. 9, U.S. Constitution).
Yet, no one ever tells us the difference. Instead, we comply with what we believe is the law — because that's what we've been sold for a hundred years — but is actually a cleverly disguised and enforced ruse.
Besides, when we're already supporting a country that is nearly $40 trillion in debt, does the collection of income taxes really make any difference?
Our leaders are spending, printing and borrowing money faster than it can be collected. As a result, the more the IRS takes from us, the further behind we get.
However, if you balk at "Paying your fair share" to keep this nonsense rolling, it sure makes government officials mad.
Maybe, next week President Trump will announce "No tax on wages and salary."
That would send career bureaucrats, tax collectors, liberal judges and fraudsters into uncontrollable temper tantrums — psych-wards would fill-up before noon.
Unless, of course, you happened to be the fortunate son of a former U.S. President who was pardoned for his income tax violations and convictions.
Sometimes, it's handy to have a daddy in high places with an autopen — even if he has difficulty finding the White House, or remembering his son's name!!!
