The Tipping Point: An Economic and Psychological Analysis of America's "Out of Control" Gratuity Culture in 2025

The Tipping Point:

 An Economic and Psychological Analysis of America's "Out of Control" Gratuity Culture in 2025

Executive Summary: Why Tipping Is "Out of Control" in 2025

The consumer perception in 2025 that American tipping culture is "out of control" is not an anecdotal complaint; it is an empirically verifiable fact. The frustration stems from a systemic shift where tipping—once a voluntary, post-service reward for hospitality—has mutated into a coercive and obligatory "expected requirement" across a vast and expanding range of transactions. This report will demonstrate that this "bull shit trend," as the user query frames it, is not a spontaneous social development but the deliberate, engineered result of a three-part system.

The Labor Model: The system is built on an exploitative labor law, the "tipped subminimum wage," which allows employers in many states to pay workers as little as $2.13 per hour. This rate, unchanged since 1991 , legally transforms the customer's tip from a "bonus" into a direct wage subsidy that covers the employer's payroll obligations.

The Enforcement Mechanism: This subsidy model is now enforced by coercive digital technology. Ubiquitous Point-of-Sale (POS) systems from companies like Square and Toast employ psychological tactics—such as screen-swivels, social pressure, and high-percentage "anchors"—to "guilt-trip" consumers into tipping.

The New Frontier: This same wage-subsidy principle has been adapted and amplified by the gig economy. For platforms like DoorDash and Uber, the "tip" is no longer a reward but a pre-service bid for labor, functionally required to get a driver to accept a job.

The pervasive "tip fatigue" documented in 2025 is a rational response to this coercive system. This report deconstructs the economic, historical, and technological architecture of this system to explain precisely why American tipping feels—and is—so fundamentally broken.

Part 1: The Tipping Point: Anatomy of an "Out of Control" System

The feeling of being "expected" to tip on every transaction is a documented phenomenon, identified by researchers and analysts as the convergence of "tipflation" and "tip creep."

A. Defining the 2025 Tipping Crisis

Two key terms define the modern tipping landscape:

"Tipflation": This refers not to general inflation, but to the inflation of gratuity expectations. What was a 15-20% norm for good service a decade ago has been replaced by digital "suggestions" that now start at 20% and climb as high as 25% or 30%.

"Tip Creep": This is the expansion of tipping expectations into new, often inappropriate, settings. Data from the Pew Research Center in 2023-2024 confirms this is not a niche complaint: 72% of Americans report that tipping is expected in more places today than it was five years ago.

This trend did not emerge from a vacuum. It was a "leftover effect" from the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, consumers, driven by a genuine desire to support "essential workers" and struggling businesses, dramatically increased their tipping generosity. Businesses, observing this, recognized an opportunity. They "expanded the tipping model" during the pandemic, and "that trend has continued post-COVID" , institutionalizing a temporary act of goodwill as a permanent expectation.

B. Validating Consumer Frustration: The Absurdity of "Tip Creep"

The expansion of tipping has moved far beyond its traditional boundaries of personalized, sit-down service. This has created a sense of absurdity that directly validates consumer frustration. Consumers in 2024 and 2025 report being solicited for tips at locations that defy the logic of rewarding service :

Self-checkout kiosks, where the customer performs all labor.

Fast-food drive-throughs.

Airport vending machines and bottled water stalls.

Used bookstores and cinema box offices.

Even auto repair shops and medical offices.

This "tip creep" is the primary driver of consumer anger. It has fundamentally transformed the social contract of tipping from an "expression of generosity" into a "guilt-tripped" and "coercive" obligation.

C. Delineating Traditional Tipping vs. The New Coercion

The fundamental social contract of tipping has been broken. The traditional model was a post-service transaction: a customer received service, judged its quality, and then decided on a voluntary, proportional reward.

The 2025 model is defined by pre-service prompts. Consumers are now routinely asked to select a tip before their coffee is made, before their food is received, or even, in the case of self-service, when no human interaction occurs at all. This shift shatters the "reward" premise, creating a transaction filled with anxiety and resentment.

This change is not merely an annoyance; it is a fundamental redefinition of the transaction. The traditional "tip" was an optional reward for service rendered. The new "tip" is a non-transparent, psychologically-coerced fee demanded prior to service. Amid general economic inflation , this "tipflation" functions as a form of shadow inflation, benefiting employers directly. A business can avoid the public relations backlash of raising its menu price for a latte from $3.50 to $4.20 (a 20% increase). Instead, it keeps the $3.50 price and uses a digital prompt to "guilt" the customer into adding a 20% "tip." The total price to the consumer is identical, but the business has successfully offloaded the price increase onto the consumer's conscience rather than its own menu, all while using this "tip" to subsidize its own labor costs.

Part 2: The Digital Panopticon: How Technology Turns Gratitude into Coercion

The "out of control" trend is not enforced by social custom alone. It is enforced by a specific, manipulative technology: the digital Point-of-Sale (POS) system.

A. The "Weaponization" of the Point-of-Sale System

The primary delivery mechanisms for "tip creep" are the tablet-based "swivel screen" and the QR code-based payment app. Technology companies like Square and Toast have built tip-prompting into their software as a default, automated feature. Data from Square, for example, revealed that nearly 75% of its remote food and beverage transactions automatically ask for a tip. This confirms the consumer's perception that the prompt is everywhere—it is, by design.

B. The Psychology of the "Guilt-Trip": How Screens Manipulate Consumers

These POS systems are not neutral tools; they are highly-engineered psychological instruments designed to "nudge" consumer behavior and maximize tip volume. They operate on four key principles of coercion:

Social Pressure (The "Panopticon"): The most potent weapon is the simple act of being watched. The employee hands the tablet to the customer and stands there, expectant. This public-facing decision creates a "psychological element of shame" and "social pressure" designed to make the customer feel "stingy" or "awkward" for selecting a low tip, or no tip at all. One survey found 67.7% of Americans feel pressured to tip by these POS systems.

Choice Architecture (Anchoring): The pre-set buttons (e.g., 20%, 25%, 30%) are not simple suggestions. They are "psychological anchors". This design uses the "Goldilocks effect" , where consumers tend to pick the middle option to seem reasonable. By setting the lowest option at 20%, the system re-anchors 20% as the new "floor" and makes the old 15% standard feel unacceptably cheap.

Friction and Defiance: The system's interface is designed to make not tipping a deliberate, high-friction, and socially uncomfortable act. The "No Tip" or "Custom" tip buttons are often smaller or require an extra tap. Choosing "No Tip" while the employee watches feels like a direct, personal confrontation, an "awkward" act of defiance rather than a neutral economic choice.

Pre-Service Anxiety: As confirmed by 2025 research from Temple University and Washington State University , asking for a tip before service is rendered is uniquely damaging. It triggers "negative emotions," "discomfort," and "uncertainty" in the consumer. The customer is being asked to reward service quality that has not yet been received, breaking the logic of tipping and creating confusion and anxiety.

This is not a flaw in the system; it is the system's core function. POS companies like Square and Toast market these features to business owners as a benefit—a tool that allows the owner to increase staff compensation without spending any of their own money. Prompts that say "Support our staff" are a prime example of a business outsourcing its two most basic functions: 1) Payroll, by pressuring the customer to pay the wage, and 2) Human Resources, by replacing the need for the employer to manage wages and retention with a "motivational tool".

This manipulation, however, is beginning to backfire. While the "con job" can increase tips in the short term , 2025 data from Adyen shows that 23% of Americans now tip less when shown pre-calculated options. This is not confusion; it is defiance. It is the consumer recognizing the "harmful manipulation" and actively punishing the business for it—a backlash that, as Part 5 will detail, is now causing the entire system to crack.

Part 3: The $2.13 Lie: Tipping as a Corporate Wage Subsidy

This section addresses the user's "Explain who" query. The "bull shit requirement" is not for the primary benefit of the worker; it is for the primary benefit of the employer. The entire system is built upon a piece of federal legislation designed to subsidize corporate payroll.

A. The Legal "Scam": The Federal Tipped Subminimum Wage

The foundation of American tipping is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour , the FLSA includes a massive loophole for "tipped employees." By law, employers are only required to pay a "tipped subminimum wage" of $2.13 per hour.

This $2.13-per-hour rate has not been increased since 1991.

This creates a "tip credit" of $5.12, which is the amount of the minimum wage ($7.25) that the employer can legally use customer tips to pay.

B. How the "Tip Credit" Works: Debunking "Tips are a Bonus"

This "tip credit" is the engine of the entire system. It "fundamentally changed the practice of tipping from an expression of gratitude to the server to a subsidy from consumers to the employers".

In this system, the customer's tip is not a bonus for the worker. It is a wage. The tip is used to pay the employer's $7.25 wage obligation first. Only after the $7.25 minimum is met by tips does the tip become a "bonus" for the worker.

This is how multi-billion dollar corporations like Darden (owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse) can report over $10 billion in annual revenue while legally paying their servers $2.13 per hour. The customer's "tip" is directly subsidizing the corporation's labor costs, allowing them to "outsource their payroll responsibility to guilt-ridden customers".

C. The Racist Origins: A System Built on Exploitation

This system is not an economic curiosity; it is a "legacy of slavery". The practice of tipping proliferated in the United States after the Civil War, when industries like railroads (via Pullman porters) and restaurants "hired newly emancipated Black women and men but offered them no wage".

Employers, particularly in the South, institutionalized tipping as a way to avoid paying wages to Black workers, shifting the burden of payment onto a customer base that was often racist. The tip was not a bonus; it was the only pay, and it was used to enforce "servility". This racist, two-tiered system was later formalized in the 1938 and 1966 FLSA amendments that created the "tip credit".

D. The 2025 Consequences: Instability, Poverty, and Discrimination

This 19th-century model has devastating 21st-century consequences:

Wage Instability: Workers are left with "tremendous instability of income" , as their pay is dependent on customer volume and bias, not on guaranteed hours.

High Poverty: Tipped workers (who are disproportionately women and people of color ) experience poverty at 2.3 times the rate of non-tipped workers.

Pervasive Harassment: The system directly enables abuse. 71% of women in the restaurant industry report being sexually harassed. Because their wage is dependent on the customer's "generosity," they are forced to tolerate "inappropriate behavior from customers to guarantee an income".

This system is a masterclass in psychological misdirection. It has "convinced workers to blame customers instead of management". The customer feels "guilt-tripped" by the worker's plea for a living wage, and the worker feels stiffed by the "stingy" customer. Both parties are forced to fight over the tip, while the true beneficiary—the employer, who is legally absolved of paying a full wage —remains invisible in the transaction. The consumer's anger is real, but it is misdirected by design.

The following table demonstrates the scale of this wage subsidy, which the consumer is expected to pay.

Table 1: The "Tip Credit" System: A 2025 State-Level Analysis (Based on 2025 data )

| Jurisdiction | 2025 Regular Minimum Wage | 2025 Tipped Minimum Wage | Maximum "Tip Credit" (Wage Subsidy Paid by Customer) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Federal Standard | $7.25 | $2.13 | $5.12 | | Texas, Georgia, N. Dakota | $7.25 | $2.13 | $5.12 | | Ohio | $10.70 | $5.35 | $5.35 | | Delaware | $15.00 | $2.23 | $12.77 | | Massachusetts | $15.00 | $6.75 | $8.25 | | California | $16.50 | $16.50 | $0.00 | | Alaska, Minnesota, Nevada | (Varies) | (Full State Minimum Wage) | $0.00 |

Part 4: Deconstructing the Gig Economy: An Analysis of DoorDash and Uber

The user's query correctly identifies DoorDash and Uber as part of this problem. The gig economy operates on the exact same principle as the $2.13 wage subsidy, but has replaced the legal "tip credit" with a high-tech "independent contractor" model that is, in many ways, more exploitative.

A. The Gig Economy Pay Model: A "Tip Credit" System Without the Law

The pay structure for "Dashers" and "Drivers" is intentionally opaque, but the formula is consistent:

DoorDash: Driver pay = Base Pay + Promotions + 100% of Customer Tips.

Uber/Uber Eats: Driver pay = Fares (a complex and fluctuating calculation) + Promotions + 100% of Customer Tips.

The "scam" lies in the "Base Pay" and "Fares." These amounts, paid by the corporations, are kept "shockingly" low. One veteran driver noted that DoorDash base pay in 2025 is lower than it was in 2015, despite massive inflation. This structure forces drivers to rely on tips to earn a livable wage.

B. The "Tip" Is Not a Tip: It's a Bid for Service

This is the central "debunking" of the gig economy. Unlike in a restaurant, the gig economy "tip" is not a "reward" for service. It is a bid in a real-time auction for a driver's labor.

Because the tip is often shown to the driver before they accept the job , and drivers are independent contractors who are encouraged to "cherry-pick" jobs and reject low-paying offers , the "tip" is the primary factor in the transaction.

A "no-tip" order is simply a losing bid. It is an offer for a driver to perform a task for a base pay of as little as $2 , an amount that is often less than the cost of gas. That "no-tip" order will be ignored by drivers, which is why a customer's food gets cold. Research from MIT confirms this: the gig economy "crowds out social norms". The user feels it's an "expected requirement" because it is—it is the price of making the transaction happen at all.

C. Platform-Specific Deceptions: "Tip Baiting" and Wage Subsidies

The platforms' "independent contractor" model creates unique forms of exploitation:

"Tip Baiting": This is a practice where a customer promises a large tip (the "bid") to ensure a driver accepts the order quickly, and then removes or lowers the tip after the delivery is complete. Platforms like DoorDash and Uber allow this , leaving the worker with no recourse and creating "job dissatisfaction and burnout".

Historical Deception: DoorDash was previously forced into a $2.5 million settlement for a pay model that literally used customer tips to directly subsidize the "guaranteed payout" they promised drivers. This is identical in principle to the restaurant "tip credit."

Both Uber and DoorDash proudly advertise that drivers keep "100% of tips." This is a masterpiece of public relations misdirection. This slogan is meaningless when the companies set their own contribution (base pay) so low that a living wage is impossible without tips. This slogan allows them to "double-dip": they present themselves as a neutral tech platform, while their entire business model relies on the customer footing their labor bill.

This system is arguably more exploitative than the restaurant model. A restaurant server, on a slow night, is legally guaranteed to have their pay topped up to the full minimum wage by their employer. A DoorDash or Uber driver is an independent contractor. They have no minimum wage floor. If they accept a $2 "no-tip" order that takes 30 minutes, they have earned $4/hour, before expenses like gas and maintenance. The gig economy has successfully adopted the "wage subsidy" model without any of the legal responsibilities.

The data in Table 2, based on 2024 analysis, shows precisely how much of a gig worker's pay is a subsidy from the customer.

Table 2: Analysis of Gig Worker Pay (2024 Data) (Based on data from Gridwise, Q1 2023–Q2 2024 )

Platform

Total Hourly Pay

Platform Base Pay (Hourly)

Tips/Bonuses (Hourly)

% of Total Pay from Tips/Bonuses

DoorDash

$18.93

$13.03

$5.90

31.2%

Uber Eats

$24.68

$17.72

$6.96

28.2%

Part 5: The "Tip Fatigue" Backlash: The Consumer Revolt of 2025

The user's query is not an outlier. It is the mainstream consensus. The corporate overreach of "tip creep" and "tipflation" has triggered a full-scale consumer revolt, a phenomenon widely identified as "tip fatigue".

A. Quantifying the Public's Frustration: The "Tip Fatigue" Data

Data from 2024 and 2025 provides overwhelming validation for this frustration.

A 2025 WalletHub survey found that 86% of Americans think tipping culture has "gotten out of control".

A 2024 NY Post/Pew survey found 76.1% of consumers and service workers agree tipping culture has "gone too far".

A 2024 Bankrate survey found that two-thirds (66%) of Americans hold a negative view of tipping.

Pew Research found 72% of Americans oppose automatic service charges.

The WalletHub survey confirmed why: 59% believe businesses are "replacing employee salaries with customer tips" (confirming the thesis of Part 3), and 51% admit to tipping from "social pressure," not for deserving service.

Table 3: The Consumer Revolt: 2024-2025 Sentiment on Tipping (Data from )

Survey (Source)

Key Finding

Statistic

WalletHub (2025)

"Tipping culture has gotten out of control"

86%

NY Post/PEW (2024)

"Tipping culture has gone too far"

76.1%

Pew Research (2023-24)

"Tipping is expected in more places"

72%

Bankrate (2024)

"Hold a negative view of tipping"

66%

WalletHub (2025)

"Businesses are replacing salaries with tips"

59%

WalletHub (2025)

"Tip due to social pressure, not service"

51%

Talker Research (2025)

Drop in "guilt tipping" spending (2024-2025)

-38%

Square (2025)

Tipping rates at QSR/FSR (Q2 2025)

"Fallen"

B. The Backlash in Action: Consumers Are Voting With Their Wallets

This "tip fatigue" has moved from a feeling to a direct economic action. Consumers are actively "fighting back" and "guilt tipping" is collapsing.

"Guilt Tipping" Is Down: Consumers spent 38% less on "guilt tips" in 2025 compared to 2024. The average amount spent per month on reluctant tips fell from $37.80 to $23.60.

Average Tips Are Falling: The backlash is hitting the industry's bottom line.

Average full-service restaurant tips fell to 19.3% in Q4 2024, a six-year low.

Square data confirmed that tipping rates at all restaurant types (quick-service, full-service, and bars) "have fallen" as of Q2 2025.

Bankrate data shows a steady decline in counter-service: the percentage of people who "always tip" a barista has fallen from 23% in 2021 to 18% in 2025.

This creates a critical feedback loop: the very tools of "Tip Creep" (the POS screens) deployed by businesses to increase tips are the direct cause of the "Tip Fatigue" that is now decreasing tips. The corporate overreach has backfired.

Tragically, this consumer revolt, while righteous, is punishing the wrong person. When a customer tips less, the corporation is insulated by the $2.13 law. The person immediately and catastrophically harmed is the worker , who is still legally paid a subminimum wage and relies on those tips to survive. This creates a vicious cycle: workers, earning less, become more desperate for tips, which can be perceived as more "entitlement," which in turn further alienates the customer.

Part 6: A System at War With Itself: The Legislative Chaos of 2025

The "bull shit" of the tipping system is most evident in the contradictory and chaotic legislative landscape of 2024-2025. The system is being pulled in two opposite directions, with politicians failing to provide a coherent solution.

A. The "One Fair Wage" (OFW) Movement: A Structural Solution Fails

The most logical solution to the problem is the "One Fair Wage" (OFW) model: eliminate the tipped subminimum wage, as states like California, Alaska, and Minnesota have already done. This would force employers to pay the full state minimum wage before tips, returning tips to their original status as a true "bonus".

This solution was put to the test in Massachusetts in November 2024. Ballot Question 5 proposed to gradually raise the state's $6.75 tipped wage to the full $15 minimum wage by 2029.

The initiative was "overwhelmingly rejected" by voters.

The reason for this failure reveals the deepest paradox of the tipping system: high-earning tipped workers (e.g., servers in fine-dining) fought against the measure. They argued that if restaurants were forced to pay them $15/hour, menu prices would rise. They feared that customers, facing higher prices, would tip less, resulting in a net pay cut for them. This small, vocal group of "winners"—who benefit from the "entrepreneurial" nature of the current system—effectively lobbied against a reform that would have lifted millions of their lower-wage colleagues out of poverty.

B. The Federal Stalemate: Two Warring Bills in 2025

This same conflict is playing out in Washington D.C., with two bills that are mutually exclusive:

The "One Fair Wage" Approach: The "Raise the Wage Act of 2025" (proposed April 2025). This bill mirrors the failed MA initiative, proposing to raise the federal minimum wage to $17/hr by 2030 and, critically, gradually eliminate the tipped subminimum wage. This is the structural fix.

The "Gimmick" Approach: The "No Tax on Tips Act" (passed July 2025). This new law does the exact opposite. It keeps the $2.13 tipped wage system intact, but makes up to $25,000 in tips tax-deductible for workers.

C. Debunking the "No Tax on Tips Act": A "Cynical Half Measure"

The "No Tax on Tips Act" has become law, and it represents the worst possible outcome for consumers and low-wage workers. Critics and labor economists have identified it as an "incredibly foolish" and "cynical half measure".

It Fails to Help the Poor: Many low-wage tipped workers earn so little that they have no federal income tax liability to begin with. For them, a tax deduction is "meaningless".

It's a "Red Herring": It allows politicians to "score points" with service workers without actually forcing corporations like Darden to pay a fair wage.

It Encourages "Tip Creep": This is the most dangerous outcome. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) warns this law creates a massive tax incentive for employers in all industries to reclassify employee pay as "tips". A "tip" is now a more valuable form of income than a "wage."

For the frustrated consumer, this 2025 law is a disaster. It has just given a federal tax incentive for "Tip Creep" to accelerate, ensuring that more businesses will be asking for tips in more places.

Part 7: Expert Analysis and Alternative Models: Debunking the Final Myth

This report concludes by debunking the last and most common defense of the American tipping system: that it is necessary to ensure good service.

A. Debunking the Final Myth: "Tipping Ensures Good Service"

The primary argument for the $2.13 wage model is that it is "entrepreneurial" , giving workers "skin in the game" and motivating them to provide better service.

This is a myth.

Fact 1: Decades of research show that the link between tip amount and service quality is "weakly related" at best.

Fact 2: Consumers, particularly Americans, do not tip based on service quality. They tip based on social conformity and obligation.

Fact 3 (The "Smoking Gun"): 2024 YouGov data provides definitive proof. 20% of Americans report tipping "every time" or "most times" even for "terrible" service. In Europe, where tipping is optional, 57-78% of diners "never" tip for terrible service.

This data proves that American tipping is a social mandate and wage subsidy, completely divorced from its supposed purpose as a service-quality incentive.

Table 4: Tipping as a Service Incentive? U.S. vs. Europe (Based on 2024 YouGov data )

Country

% Who "Never" Tip for "Terrible" Service

% Who "Never" Tip for "Poor" Service

United States

32%

21%

Great Britain

57%

52%

Germany

69%

66%

Italy

69%

66%

Denmark

78%

78%

France

77%

74%

B. The Alternative: "Fair Wage" Models (Europe & Asia)

The user's frustration is uniquely American. The U.S. is, by a wide margin, the "tip-happiest country" in the world.

In most other developed nations—such as France, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China—this system does not exist. In these countries:

Workers are paid a full, fair wage by their employer, as mandated by law.

Tipping is not expected. It is either a "modest" rounding-up of the bill (e.g., €13 to €14) , or, in countries like Japan, it is considered "offensive".

Service quality is high. Travelers and consumers frequently report that service in these non-tipping countries is as good or better than in the U.S. It is often described as more professional and less "fake-friendly" , as the server is paid to do a job, not to "grovel for... change".

C. Final Conclusion: The Assessment of an "Out of Control" System Is Correct

The "bull shit trend" identified in the user query is not an overreaction. It is a rational response to a "psychological con job".

The "out of control" feeling of 2025 is the visible, end-stage symptom of a broken economic model that began with the post-Civil War exploitation of Black labor. This model was codified into law as a "corporate subsidy" that has remained unchanged for 34 years. It has now been supercharged by coercive digital technology and surgically adapted by the gig economy to remove all legal protections.

The system is designed, from top to bottom, to pit consumers and workers against each other in a fight over a few dollars, all while shielding corporations from their most basic responsibility: to pay their own employees. The 2025 "No Tax on Tips" law, rather than fixing this, has just given a federal tax incentive for the "bull shit" to expand.

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Reason Why Tipping is Out of Control in 2025 - YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXs7X-Aroc 26. US consumer sentiment drops to near record low as shutdown persists, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/07/us-consumer-sentiment-shutdown 27. How Digital Tipping Encourages Better Service Without Pressure - Sunday App, https://sundayapp.com/how-digital-tipping-encourages-better-service-without-pressure/ 28. The Psychology Behind Digital Tipping and Guest Behavior - Sunday App, https://sundayapp.com/the-psychology-behind-digital-tipping-and-guest-behavior/ 29. Re: In the News: Is Tipping becoming too much? - Page 2 - The Square Community, https://community.squareup.com/t5/Question-of-the-Week/In-the-News-Is-Tipping-becoming-too-much/m-p/669187 30. POS Systems and Tipping: Do Digital Payment Options Hurt Restaurant Workers' Earnings?, https://www.rockbell.sg/pos-systems-and-tipping-do-digital-payment-options-hurt-restaurant-workers-earnings/ 31. Americans are guilt tipping much less in 2025 - Talker Research, https://talkerresearch.com/americans-are-guilt-tipping-much-less-in-2025/ 32. Has tipping for takeout become a social norm? - RetailWire, https://retailwire.com/discussion/has-tipping-for-takeout-become-a-social-norm/ 33. Digital on-screen tipping: How the business practice came to be at restaurants and more, https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/on-screen-tipping-etiquette-restaurants 34. Study: To battle tip fatigue, businesses should make their service efforts visible, https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2025/07/02/study-to-battle-tip-fatigue-businesses-should-make-their-service-efforts-visible/ 35. Tipflation and the POS Sytem - Modisoft, https://modisoft.com/tipflation-and-the-pos-system/ 36. 'The numbers don't lie': why no-tipping policies can hurt US restaurant workers - The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/13/us-tipping-restaurants-wages 37. Tipping isn't dead, but Gen Z is rewriting the rules - Adyen, https://www.adyen.com/knowledge-hub/tipping-trends 38. Minimum wage in the United States - Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_States 39. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees | U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped 40. Tips - U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips 41. The Tipping Point: How Tipped Wages Harm Workers and Increase Inequalities - Institute Home, https://institute.incap.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2024&month=02&day=07&id=5:the-tipping-point-how-tipped-wages-harm-workers-and-increase-inequalities 42. Customer Tips Are Providing the Lion's Share of Wages to Tipped Workers - CEPR.net, https://cepr.net/publications/customer-tips-are-providing-the-lions-share-of-wages-to-tipped-workers/ 43. American tipping is rooted in slavery—and it still hurts workers today - Ford Foundation, https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/american-tipping-is-rooted-in-slavery-and-it-still-hurts-workers-today/ 44. Ending the Tipped Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty and Inequality, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/ending-tipped-minimum-wage-will-reduce-poverty-inequality/ 45. Tipping Culture: How It Started & Who It's Still Screwing Over | by Christine Lorelie - Medium, https://medium.com/broke-aint-the-vibe/tipping-culture-how-it-started-who-its-still-screwing-over-675530b549e1 46. New IWPR Report: Tipped Minimum Wage Harms Women, https://iwpr.org/new-iwpr-report-tipped-minimum-wage-harms-women/ 47. BETTER WAGES, BETTER TIPS: Restaurants Flourish with One Fair Wage, https://eofnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Better-Wages-Better-Tips.pdf 48. How is service better in non-tipping countries? : r/Waiters - Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/Waiters/comments/1kl3kku/how_is_service_better_in_nontipping_countries/ 49. Minimum Wage Rate in the US by State (2025) | Paycom Blog, https://www.paycom.com/resources/blog/minimum-wage-rate-by-state/ 50. 2025 Minimum Wage Rates by State - Labor Law Center, https://www.laborlawcenter.com/state-minimum-wage-rates 51. Minimum Wage - California Department of Industrial Relations, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/minimum_wage.htm 52. Raises from Coast to Coast in 2025 - National Employment Law Project, https://www.nelp.org/insights-research/raises-from-coast-to-coast-in-2025/ 53. Complete Guide to Massachusetts Minimum Wage in 2025 - GoCo, https://www.goco.io/blog/massachusetts-minimum-wage-laws-guide 54. How Dasher Pay Works - DoorDash Support, https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/How-is-Dasher-pay-calculated?language=en_US 55. Dasher Pay: How DoorDash Delivery Drivers Get Paid, https://dasher.doordash.com/en-us/about/pay 56. How Much Can You Make With DoorDash in a Week? | EarnIn, https://www.earnin.com/blog/how-much-can-you-make-with-doordash 57. How Much Do Drivers Make? - Uber, https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/how-much-drivers-make/ 58. How much can drivers make with Uber?, https://www.uber.com/en-US/blog/how-much-drivers-make/ 59. How Much Do Uber Drivers Make in CA in 2025? - North One, https://www.northone.com/blog/start-a-business/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make-in-california 60. I Realized Today Dasher Pay In 2025 Is Literally The Same It Was 10 Years Ago When I Started : r/doordash_drivers - Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/doordash_drivers/comments/1ogsdpu/i_realized_today_dasher_pay_in_2025_is_literally/ 61. The Tipping Point: Changing the Dynamic for Struggling Gig Economy Workers, https://www.lisep.org/content/the-tipping-point-changing-the-dynamic-for-struggling-gig-economy-workers 62. Uber Drivers Do THIS to Make More Money in 2025 - YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAtcajqquU0 63. DoorDash Tips and Tricks for Top Earners: How to Make More in 2025 - Keeper Tax, https://www.keepertax.com/posts/doordash-tips 64. DoorDash For Beginners 2025: What You MUST Know!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsgvkbW2-4 65. First DoorDash Driver Shift (2025)…Just $9 an Hour? - YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtoZORaWPsM 66. Uber Eats vs DoorDash Pay: How Much Are Drivers Earning in 2025 ..., https://gridwise.io/blog/delivery/uber-eats-vs-doordash-pay-how-much-are-drivers-earning/ 67. Does “Tipping Fatigue” Justify Paying Minimum Wage to Tipped Workers? | BU Today, https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/does-tipping-fatigue-justify-paying-minimum-wage-to-tipped-workers/ 68. Tips drop as consumer spending stalls | Restaurant Dive, https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/tipping-rates-lowest-levels-square-data/756603/ 69. Square Data Shows How 2025's Economic Volatility Is Impacting the Restaurant Industry, https://squareup.com/us/en/press/summer-restaurant-report-2025 70. Americans fight back against growing 'guilt tipping' pressure at digital checkout screens, https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/americans-fight-back-against-growing-guilt-tipping-pressure-digital-checkout-screens 71. Survey: 'Out of control,' 'Pay employees better' and other things Americans say about tipping | Bankrate, https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/news/tipping-culture-survey/ 72. ONE FAIR WAGE MYTHS & FACTS, https://onefairwage.squarespace.com/s/OFW_MythsAndFacts_6-hs8a.pdf 73. Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly reject Ballot Question 5 to ..., https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/massachusetts-ballot-question-5-election-results-tipped-workers/ 74. 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The impact of the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 | Economic Policy ..., https://www.epi.org/publication/rtwa-2025-impact-fact-sheet/ 80. Forget 'no tax on tips'—increasing the minimum wage would deliver dramatically larger raises for millions more workers without letting employers off the hook | Economic Policy Institute, https://www.epi.org/blog/increase-the-minimum-wage-forget-no-tax-on-tips/ 81. A closer look at No Tax on tip legislation | Empower, https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/closer-look-no-tax-tip-legislation-news 82. New IRS “No Tax on Tips” Deduction – Who is Eligible? - Latino Tax Pro, https://latinotaxpro.com/blogs/news/new-irs-no-tax-on-tips-deduction-who-is-eligible 83. IRS offers penalty relief for 2025 tip and overtime reporting requirements, https://rsmus.com/insights/tax-alerts/2025/obbba-no-tax-tips-overtime-penalty-relief.html 84. 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Should Restaurant Tipping Be Abolished? - Cato Institute, https://www.cato.org/regulation/summer-2016/should-restaurant-tipping-be-abolished