Reply #210: Nobody forces them to work there. [View All]

[Xithras]

When I eat in a restaurant, I do pay for my food, so my conscience is clear. If people choose to work their butts off for less than $3 an hour, that's not my problem...they should work elsewhere.
The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour, and the state rates vary from $5.15 an hour to $7.15 an hour. ANYONE who is working for less than that needs to get a new job (and no snide comments about the job market...even McDonald's, Taco Bell, and WalMart pay better than that and they're always hiring). Hell, you can make more money than that by mowing lawns!

These restaurant owners only get away with paying those kinds of wages because employees are willing to work for those wages. If you're willing to subject yourself to that kind of work for that little money, please don't try to act like I somehow "owe" you anything for it. I do tip waiters and waitresses who offer exceptional service, but I do it as a gesture of gratitude for the effort they have expended to make my meal enjoyable (consider it "above and beyond the call of duty" pay), and not out of any sense of obligation.

If you don't like it, ORGANIZE! Even in a "right to work" state you can picket, which at the very least will cause them to lose their union customers. I don't, however, see the point in badgering hungry people for charity when you could accomplish so much more by badgering your boss, as a united group, for a RAISE.

People underestimate their own power, and when given the choice between giving raises or folding the business, very few bosses will fold.