Tips and Donations
I have an idea for a step-wise solution to the tipping problem, presuming you think the status quo isn't the optimal compensation scheme imaginable (i.e. you think there IS a problem). This will never happen, but I thought I'd write this down, just because if something like this ever did happen, it would be pretty awesome.
First, recognize that giving a tip is giving money away that you aren't absolutely required to give.* In that regard, it's like making a donation to the livelihood of the server. If it's a donation, is that the best place in the world to be making a donation? People like Will MacAskill have studied this problem and although I'm no expert in the topic, I've come to recognize that supporting charities with causes in the US cost possibly an order of magnitude more per "unit of good" that they do, when compared to causes in other parts of the world. The problem is our brains are wired to feel good about giving, not wired to give in the most effective way, so effective giving to some distant cause doesn't give us the dopamine hit that giving to a local cause would. So that's just a hack at an intro to the AE movement, which is background for the tipping solution I've concocted.
I said in an earlier post that if we flipped a switch, and nobody tipped restaurant servers starting tomorrow, all servers would make at least the state's minimum wage, which is the same or higher than the federal minimum wage. This is because if servers report receiving tips that, added to their base wage, wouldn't add up to the minimum wage, the employer is compelled by law to make up the difference. This doesn't mean that servers would suddenly be compensated fairly; minimum wage is just an arbitrary number. What would happen is employers would have servers saying "unless you pay me what I was making before, I'll go do an easier job". Employers would begin paying a fair wage for the job, and prices on the menu would rise accordingly.
But there is no such switch to flip. That's where the idea to merge the tipping problem and effective altruism comes in. Rather than a switch, it becomes a movement. Just for illustration, let's pick protecting a child from malaria, which costs $7**. Malaria kills 600,000 people annually, mostly kids. The bill comes at the restaurant. It's $56. Your phone has "EATT" app (Effective Altruism Through Tipping)*** installed. The app scans the receipt, which collects the total of the bill, the restaurant name and number, along with the server's name. Say the app has been configured to tip 25% and has calculated an amount of $14 to tip. Earlier, when you installed the app, you gave it your funding source and choice of what cause to support. When you hit "OK" on the $14 to approve it, your screen shows a URL:
https://eatt.com/dx5p3, where the last bit is a "tiny URL", that links to your $14 transaction. On the bill, in the tip slot, you write
"eatt.com/dx5p3, thanks for preventing two kids from getting malaria!" When the server goes to that page, it will explain to the server that their customer donated on their behalf to saving lives of kids. The outlet and server would be credited, so it would say "Larry J of Waffle House #4321 provided for two malaria injections", or something like that. If this is the first time someone donated on that server's behalf, then there will be an opportunity for Larry J to claim that account to track all giving over time. The restaurant patron wouldn't feel like a cheapskate because they didn't get to keep the tip and, if enough people started doing this, two things would happen. First, restaurants would be forced to pay servers what they're worth, directly, not on the backs of patrons. And second, the most effective charities could be funded better than they are now, and more lives saved. And let's talk about Larry. Since he only worked at Waffle House, it's likely his tips were at or barely above the untipped minimum wage. Under this scenario, the employer would make up the difference and raise the menu prices. But let's also talk about Benjamin, who works at an upscale place and makes twice the untipped minimum wage. When all of his fat tips on $300 meals start going to charity, there's going to be a huge pay cut for him. But he' smart, and he'll demand more pay, or he'll find some other work. The establishment will need to start paying a fair wage for what they're getting, rather than depend on patrons to do it for them. Menu prices will rise, but the absurd custom will be gone.
* Some people will say it's about as compulsory as you can get, to which I tend to agree, but technically, you could not tip and not break the contract between you an the restaurant.
** https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities
*** just a fictional name for illustration
