Think before you leave a standard tip

In addition to tips, restaurant serves are paid wages, so this is plenty, right? No!

The wages are designed to be enough to pay income tax on tips and no more. Also, part of tip money is shared with bus boys, and not all waitresses are beautiful, which helps to get bigger tips. If you doubt this, ask your local restaurant owners. I did.

Servers are among the lowest-earning working poor. They are not just students, helping to pay college costs, or just adding vacation money to the primary family income. Some waitresses are the sole support of themselves, and sometimes others. Some of them have more than a full-time job, of necessity.

A waitress in a busy restaurant can commonly earn $500 or $600 per week. Using the rule of thumb that a week's income should be a month's rent, or 25 percent of earning would be a reasonable month's rent, what kind of home can be rented for this amount? What kind of dwelling can be bought with such income?

I am not in any way in the restaurant business, and neither is anyone in my immediate family. Nobody working in a restaurant depends on me. I just do not like to see someone working so hard earning so little.

Paul R. Nordskog

Arlington Heights