The Middle Class, where I live, has been eviscerated. Over the past five years, my monthly expenses have increased nearly $2,000. I’ve not changed anything.
Same house, same car, same pretty much everything. Insurance, groceries, and literally everything else have just skyrocketed. (Example: took a friend to lunch. We both had BLTs. He had water. I had iced tea. The tab, with tip was $54. Going out for lunch used to be fun. Not any more!). That $2K used to be MY money.
@freepatriot Jesus!! Do you live in a big city?
Is not tipping an option?
In the EU I stopped tipping completely due to inflation, and the very high minimum salaries of the staff.
The restaurants have countered by pre-selecting 15% tip on their credit card machines, so you actively have to scroll to find "no tip". That's disgusting!
@freepatriot
You live in the wrong neighborhood. The tip was more than the cost of the entire meal for both people in some other neighborhoods in the United States