Life Choices

So there we were, arguing about tipping. Some of us saying that we always tip a lot because we know that jobs which are mostly tips tend to be difficult, low-paying jobs; and then this one guy who said that it was unfair to expect him to tip well for poor service. 

Hm. Fairness. He went on to say that maybe jobs such as waiting tables were difficult and low-paying, but that people had such jobs because they had made poor life choices, and that it would be unfair to him, again, to expect him to pay to help people because of the choices they had made.

 

It seems really amazing to me that I have to explain this to anyone, but apparently I do: Life isn't fair. It isn't remotely fair. Not everyone has the same sort of things to choose among. For example, one person who's turning 16 in the US might have the choice of a brand-new Tesla or a brand-new BMW as a 16th-birthday present; a second 16-year-old might get a 10-year-old Chevy in poor condition for their birthday and be expected to be grateful for it; and a third one might have the choice of working long hours for tips after school and eventually being able to buy their own car, or walking.

And still other 16-year-olds might be faced with much worse choices still, yes, even in the US. Some never had the chance to take Driver's Ed, never went to school, are living on the streets. 

A couple of years later, one kid might have the choice of going to Harvard, all expenses paid, or Princeton, all expenses paid. Another might have the choice of going to Harvard and going heavily into dept, or going to Indiana State and going into somewhat less debt, or going to Indiana State and taking on no debt, but having to work full-time while studying. Etc. Not everyone has the same choices. It seems incredible to me that I have to explain such things to anyone, but apparently I do. Some people have incredible advantages, but don't appreciate them.

I'll give you an extreme example. This will sound impossible, but it's a true story: about 50 years ago, one guy got $1 million dollars from his father to help him start out in the real estate business. And 50 years later, as a billionaire, he's still complaining about how difficult his life has been, and how he's been treated very unfairly, and how he was forced to start out "with only a small $1 million loan from my father."

And I bet that guy is a lousy tipper. I don't actually know, I just have a feeling.

And let me just add another incredibly obvious thing about choices and tipping, because apparently it's actually not obvious to everyone: a lot of us very rarely have the opportunity to tip someone to begin with, because we can't afford to eat out. The last time I gave a tip, I think, was over a year ago, at a car wash. I tipped big, because I believe in tipping big. But I don't think I've been to car wash, or a restaurant, since then. Not only because of COVID but also because I couldn't have afforded it if there was no pandemic.

And if I start to feel sorry for myself, I need to remind myself that there are many people, all around me in this prosperous city which does an amazing job of looking out for the less fortunate, who don't have a car and can't afford to buy one, not even an old broken down car. I only had part of a driver's ed course back in the 1970's, but some people didn't even have the choice of going to school when they were 16. And a lot of these people who don't have cars are still much better off than others, because they have homes.

A lot of people in this world never live to be 16 years old. And everybody knows everything I've said in this post. None of this is any kind of a secret.

So, Mr goes-to-restauraunts every-day, lousy-tipper complaining-about lousy-service: I don't want to hear about how those waitresses you abuse should've made better choices if they don't appreciate your impolite behavior and small tips. I probably could make this point even more obviously clear if I weren't so angry right now. But I think a lot of the reason you don't understand any of this is because you're really not even listening to me or any of the many other people trying to explain such elementary, obvious things to you, because you're far too busy reading Ayn Rand and feeling sorry for yourself because Democrats are wrecking the stock market.