You're taxed when you earn your money. You're taxed when you enjoy your earnings. You're taxed when you invest your earnings. You're taxed when you own or attempt to own property. You're taxed when you purchase mandatory licenses. You're taxed when you pay for necessary utilities. You're taxed when you die.

And our Tax codes are FUN, aren't they? To be prosecuted or fined for not following tax laws that are too complex for common men to comprehend is fascinating. Send me to jail for breaking laws that are effectively designed for me not to be able to understand?

I don't think it's uncommon; many of us make a decent wage, and we live a modest lifestyle, but we fall into debt sooner than we rise into wealth. So what's the problem? Perhaps we suffer a delusion concerning what we make and what our dollars can purchase. Well, we're supposed to. Many of our taxes are well hidden. Many are truly supposed to be. After a genuine evaluation of our tax burdens, our purchases simply do not cost what we think they cost - and we don't earn what we think we earn.

I invite and request responses which correct or support any examples I assert, or otherwise set me straight!

Let's begin with some painfully obvious taxes:

• Federal income tax (lots of variables, maybe zero, probably about 15%, maybe 28%+)
• Social Security/payroll tax. (For most 7.65% on earnings. Self-employed pay 14.1 %. Employers match the individual rate; with decreased wages likely compensating)
• State income tax (range from zero in 9 states to above 8% in 7 states)
• Local income taxes (there are a few, from zero to 2.75%)
• Corporate tax (Qualified personal services corporations at flat rate of 35%)

Then, there are some more unavoidable taxes:

• Utilities. (water, gas, electricity, and ESPECIALLY telecommunications have significant taxation attached. Telephone federal excise tax, universal service fee tax, surcharge taxes. Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, recurring and non-recurring charges tax, usage charge tax. Telephone state and local tax , and surcharge taxes - Can really add up)
• Transportation (Auto sales tax, locality permits, Vehicle License Registration Tax, hidden excise taxes, Road Toll Booth Taxes , Toll Bridge Taxes , Toll Tunnel Taxes, public transportation surcharges)
• Petrol - Gasoline Tax (Washington has the highest gas tax 36 cents / gallon. Federal gas tax was 18.4 cents per gallon)
• Groceries. (state sales taxes, some pay little, some not so little)
• Living in a home (property taxes; And they don't go away - They don't stop)
• Death tax (The last laugh!)

And the routine and unrelenting SALES TAX (with a wide range; generally 4-8%, 5 states relieving citizens of the burden. Up to 10.25% in Cook Co, IL, 11.5% in Nevada). Gets us everyday in minor or major ways:

• clothes
• computers
• Liquor Tax
• cigarettes
• indulgences
• day-to-day needs, etc

Documentation/Permission taxes - licenses & permits taxes:

• building permit
• Dog License
• Fishing License
• hunting License
• Trailer Registration
• Watercraft Registration
• Marriage License
• Food License
• Septic Permit
• Well Permit
• CDL license
• Fuel permit
• Corporation License
• Amusements License
• Alcoholic beverages manufacturer/sale License

Yet MORE additional taxes that might not come up, but we may well encounter them;

• Hotel stay (up to 17%!)
• Car Rental Taxes (average 8.24%)
• Airline Ticket Taxes (8+% with additional flat fees per domestic segment and often a significant per person passenger facility charge )
• Gift tax (begins at 18% and rise to 50%)
• windfall gains ( lottery etc)
• personal property tax (targeting cars, boats, aircraft, artwork, etc)
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• sports
• entertainment
• mortgage
• investments
• Capital Gains / dividend
• social security income ( if above total income thresholds of $25000 single or $32000 joint filing)
• Inheritance
• Federal excise taxes (motor fuels, tires, telephone usage, tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages, firearms, shells & cartridges)
• Insurance Premium Taxes
• IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Luxury Taxes
• Service Charge Taxes
• School Tax
• Vaccination Taxes

Some INDIRECT and/or HIDDEN taxes:

• Lost interest on mandatory preemptive seizure of projected income tax obligation (if you pay income taxes, this likely includes you)
• Shipping of the goods we use and buy.
• property taxes on factory and warehousing
• Workers Compensation Tax
• Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
• Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
• yield taxes on timber cutting, etc
• Severance Taxes on natural resources (from oil and gas to turpentine and timber)
• import taxes (from garments to bicycles to strawberries)
• Accounts Receivable Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges

It would be awfully hard to put a total amount or percentage to our taxation relative to our income. It is of course dependent on in which state you live, and the types of choices you make, the size of your household, etc... But it is safe to say, an enormous portion of our reward for hard work goes to taxation. Perhaps this would be satisfactory if we felt that we received excellent services in return; this would be rather debatable I suspect.

Help me out, I need assistance discovering and uncovering (or remembering) the taxes we enjoy. Point out the privileges I'm forgetting, please.

At its core, Tipping is a long-term, evolving trend; which changes over time, culture, and location.

In the U.S., the trend has grown into a Frankenstein's monster. Worse than the discovery that the monster has the brain of a deranged thief,  we find the monster has escaped and is violently running amuck through our village. This trend of late is the ubiquitous tip sign: EVERYONE wants a tip now!

And now that the desire to receive tips (note that I did not say "earn" tips) has spread to everyone who can imagine the possibility, we approach a state of gratuity anarchy.  And the mentality surrounding tips has evolved; it’s not a sign of appreciation for good or exceptional service, it is an expectation.  Tipping well is something you are all but required to do.  I am even seeing arguments suggesting a standard 15% tip for bad service.  Apparently, recent economic uncertainty and trouble has already affected negatively the habits of tipping.  Probably...but it might also have something to do with the fact that people are getting completely fed up with the never-ending open palm phenomenon.

Culturally we've moved from debating whether tipping is a good idea or not, to the question of is 15% adequate, and should it be perhaps heading towards 25/30%. Why was tipping 10% appropriate at the beginning of the 20th century, but today only 20% is considered a complement? (Since the late 1970s, the going rate has been 15%)  The answer is; when you feed the monster, it continues to grow.

The  base standard of our new cultural etiquette demands:  if I touch something of yours, you should tip me (which I guess translates to: if you don't want me ruining and breaking your stuff, that costs extra.  I get paid for going through the motions, but refraining from ruining your stuff - that cost more). If someone touches your coffee, tip them.  If someone touches your luggage, tip them. If someone touches your food, your clothes, your hair, your skin, your nails, tip them.  If someone touches the door before you can, tip them! Deliver the paper, hand you a beer, write down an order - tip them!  Someone speaks to you?  Smiles?  Tip them!

So, the key, obviously; don't let people touch your things. The moment you own something - don’t let people touch it.  It creates a license for you to owe them money.

Tipping appears to have its origins in 16th-century England, and spread throughout European areas that had a servant class. This is somewhat ironic, as Europe has moved away from tipping and America has embraced it ridiculously. Early U.S. tipping practices were not well-intentioned! "Far from being perceived as a way of increasing the pay of service workers...was frequently seen as an employer strategy for exploiting workers, particularly black workers...When the Pullman porters organized into the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, one of the first things they did was to petition the Interstate Commerce Commission for an order prohibiting tips. " ¹¹

And tipping was not particularly welcome here, either; "The New York Times (1899, p. 6) claimed that the tipping practice is a wretched system … every tip saves the payment of wages to an equal amount… This throws a flood of light on the frequent assertions that the abolition of the tipping system is impossible. "¹ "The Washington Post denounced tipping as 'one of the most insidious and one of the most malignant evils' of modern life. Tipping was seen to foster a lord-and-vassal relationship that the prouder professions resisted. Well into the 1910s many bartenders refused gratuities as an insult to their status."²  "Gunton’s Magazine (1896, p. 16-17) called tipping offensively un-American, because it was contrary to the spirit of American life of working for wages rather than fawning for favors. It also stated that tipping did not favor the tip-receivers because their wages were reduced as a result of tipping"¹ And  there existed an Anti-Tipping Society of America, who from 1905 to 1919 succeeded in having the custom abolished in seven states; alas, it did not survive.

So… let's go out to dinner:  Our meal probably begins with some valet parking.  Once you walk-in (if you didn't have to tip some maitre'd handsomely for a table, and if you don't encounter another new trend requiring an entire party to be present before being seated), then you see in your menu the expense of your entrées and your drink, desserts and appetizers perhaps.  If you like wine with your meal, then be glad we're all rich, as the prices certainly have soared. You might notice another new trend which is showing up; a significant split fee.  Isn't that fun?  Add eight dollars to your plate, because you aren't going to eat it the way they want you to.  So, you begin to eat your meal, and taking a pause, you discover that many restaurants today are quite comfortable hustling you along; many hands will attempt to seize your plates if you stop working at them for even a moment  (Another lovely trend, but a bit off point). So then you get your bill, adding of course some delicious taxation.  Now comes your chance to be a good American and support this poor struggling institution of dining.  The modern world and our  nation's economy depend on you doing your part to embellish the wages of those who otherwise simply could not be paid -- and it simply isn't fair to let these wards of the populace do just all right, they must thrive.  And you must make it happen.  So think 20%.

Yes 20%... I know, it used to be 15% (and before that 10%) but this is adjusting for inflation you see.  Never mind that the cost of the meal is already adjusted for inflation, and therefore 15% of the adjusted price actually results in identical relative wage to the earlier eras; it is a matter of treating the nation's waiters in a manner that, well...boosts their self-esteem.  Yes that's your responsibility.

One thing that cracked me up is going on the web forums which you can find about tipping, and reading all the entries from restaurant wait staff moaning about how excruciatingly hard they work.  I can't tell you how many posts I've seen where a restaurant server has declared their job one of the most dangerous, stressful and difficult jobs there is.  That takes quite an imagination.  And don't tell me I don't know, years ago I waited tables in some seven different establishments.  Right, it has tuff moments - Unlike everyone else, who show up for work whenever, then put their feet up on the desk and eat cupcakes for a few hours before going home exhausted from telling jokes all day...It really isn't fair that waiters have to actually work.

Obviously, the job itself should pay a real wage!  Just what does minimum-wage mean anyway, if select service industries can make this peculiar arrangement?

OK, so anyone who wasn't around for the Civil War is probably accustomed to restaurant tipping.  Maybe that's not even the the real problem... maybe the problem is the list of everyone else we must now consider for tips in order to consider ourselves socially just and correct.  At the bottom of my rant is a list of the itchy palmers I can think of;  Please add to it if you notice omissions.

What are the arguments for tipping?

The gold standard of tipping arguments is that it directly relates to the quality of service provided.  No it doesn't.  That's nonsense. I spent the last year in Singapore, where tipping is flat-out discouraged (and you can't imagine how wonderful it is to be relieved of the unrelenting assault on your wallet and your guilt).  The service in Singapore is fundamentally no better nor no worse than in the United States.  Indistinguishable.  People do a good job because it's their job.  They care or they don't; and they lose their job or keep their job accordingly. If employers had to pay real wages would they put up with crappy staff? No, they wouldn't tolerate it. Wait staff would have to perform and keep clientele happy or find the door, just like in most any other employment situation. And restaurants that pride themselves on superior service would have to pay staff better to retain better servers, just like in any other employment situation. In addition, the two significant studies cited elsewhere show little relationship between quality of service and size of tip.  So it becomes increasingly meaningless with regard to expectations of good service.

"The argument that tipping is efficient is based on the assumption that customers tip according to service quality, whereas in reality there is only a weak correlation between service-quality and tip size. By far the most important factor that determines tip size is the size of the bill and there is no reason to think that the size of the bill is correlated with service quality...Moreover, most restaurants practice tip-pooling; that is, tips do not go directly to the staff who provided the service, but instead are aggregated and then distributed to all servers according to some formula. ... Tip-pooling reduces the incentive to provide good service that tipping allegedly provides, because each waiter has an incentive to free ride on the other's efforts by exerting less effort in providing good service as his or her tips will only be marginally affected" ³

And when service charges are included (as with a party of six or more), this logic and argument would suggest a complete collapse in the service you would receive.  Most of us know, that is just not the case.

Analysis has further concluded what is intuitive; that institutionalized tipping caused wages to decline!  (Usually this is an unacceptable trend to most.)  As these wages have become settled at a ridiculous low-end figure, the receivers of these wages complain of their financial disadvantage.  It hardly needs to be pointed out for the millionth time that they could pursue another job.  Of course for some that's a possibility and for some it’s a difficulty.  So moving past that, let me just ask how the struggling individuals expect to live in a society where they themselves will have to grease the palms of everyone else they encounter throughout their day?  Are you making great money or are you going broke, which is it?  If you're broke, then how do you expect to function in a society that expects the generous tip at every encounter?  Live by the sword, die by the sword.

While living in Chicago I did my best for years to tip generously.  I desperately wanted to be a welcome face in the establishments of my neighborhood.  Sadly, after years of eating out in the downtown Chicago scene, I don't know if I ever felt like my earnest attempts at generous tipping was ever remembered or even noticed  (aside from places where I was most definitely a regular).  Once everyone is expected to leave a minimum of 15%+ on every occasion, leaving a nice tip of 18 to 20% does not make you a hero to anyone. You are easily forgotten.  You're just another member of the congregation who relinquished  their tithe to alter of the service providers.  I'm afraid to say, generally you're only going to be remembered if you return with consistent regularity or you leave a bad tip (and no doubt, this will never be forgotten).

There is the argument that people should tip well because this is the way these people make a living.  But this is not a sufficient argument in and of itself; It is an explanation of the mentality, but not a good justification of the practise. What if another individual makes his living by avoiding all unnecessary expenses, like gratuities?  Each individual must take responsibility for finding a job that pays them directly and consistently in a manner they can live with.  It is nobody else's responsibility to compensate for the fuzziness or inadequacies of a contract between employee and employer.

And in this way, tipping can promote an antagonistic relationship  between the customer and the server;  why must the customer provide the restaurant’s employees an incentive to perform? The customer can discover a sense of resentment, being expected to accept the responsibility for paying the wage of someone who simply did their job.  This includes every instance where service was simply functional, lacking any flair or special attention.  It is a nuisance to regularly suffer the game-playing, mathematical test, and guilt resolution as an end to every meal.

And tipping is a very clumsy to comment on the overall dining experience; as this built-in method of evaluation ultimately affects only the server.  But what if the atmosphere and the food sucked?  You don't get to express your dissatisfaction with your tip!  And how are we supposed to reward good, exceptional, service if everyone is given a tip at every interaction? Then it’s not a reward, but an expectation; and thus there is no significant positive reinforcement when someone does something really special. Tips are not supposed to be an entitlement, they are supposed to be a gratuity. By virtue of the fact that is absolutely expected, it becomes essentially a publicly mandated subsidy, primarily benefiting the business owner at the expense of their employees.  And the employees will further lose less conspicuous benefits which ordinarily accompany a job in the US; Social Security benefits properly correlating to the actual time invested in your job, health care benefits, vacation days, etc..

Tipping researchers "Ayres et al. and Michael Lynn...showed that tipping may facilitate prejudice... tipping facilitates significant tax evasion. " ³

"The bottom line is if you don't want to pay a gratuity for a service performed for you, don't use the service. " Is an actual quote from louseytipper.com. It is ironic, as this same individual was complaining that the government is grabbing 8% of wage. The IRS is grabbing twice that from rest of us.  This hypocritical argument "if you don't want to pay for the service, don't eat out", would equate to "if you don't want to pay the government tax bill, don't live in this nation".  This argument ignores the reality that we don't mind paying for what we get, were simply sick of this tipping structure and mentality.  We don't feel are getting our moneys worth, and we don't like it.

The economic arguments against tipping are strong, payroll taxes are not the only taxes evaded when cash tips are not reported by waiters, sales taxes are evaded as well. If the service component is charged separately, through a tip, it does not appear in the bill, and sales tax is evaded. "A mandated switch to a service charge will not only reduce opportunities for discrimination as suggested by Ayres et al., but may also significantly improve tax compliance." ³

So, what are solutions?  Let's begin enforcing minimum wage laws, without exceptions for these "special case" scenarios.  What's this $2.15 wage anyway; it’s an amount PERFECT for the government to snatch for covering your presumed tax obligation. (If the government said employers could pay wait staff  NOTHING, then there’d be no cash to grab!)  It's an unacceptable arrangement.  Wait staff must begin receiving real wages. As government institutionalized tipping-dependant structures are disassembled, the rampant escalation of tip greed into every other field would begin to die (either by public resistance or practitioner embarrassment). The mandated service charge needs to appear on our checks.  At that point a tip would be a meaningful and optional expression of true thankfulness.

And the rest of the world won’t find our cities so frustrating.

Modern folks (or extorting pirates, depending on your point of view) who expect and/or deserve tips in the U.S. -  As collected from several web sites that claim "expertise" (whatever the hell that means) in these refined social etiquettes. These are NOT my suggestions! My feelings are in the parentheses:

·                     Maitre'd - go ahead and splurge. (Yes, that's what one site recommends. And sure, why the hell not; We're all just MADE of money, and Maitre'ds add so much to our lives!)

·                     Headwaiter/captain: May get a cut of table server's tip; so tip your server extra to reward captain, or tip captain separately (Even MORE surcharge at the restaurant!)

·                     Bartenders: $1 for beer or wine, $2 for mixed drink, or 10-20% of bar bill

·                     Sommelier or wine steward: 15% of cost of the bottle

·                     Coatroom attendant: $1 - 2 per coat

·                     Washroom attendant: 50¢ -  $1

·                     Buffet Waiter staff: 5% - 10%  At least $1 per head if you get your own beverages. If you order beverages from the server, then you should tip 10-20% (20%!  Thanks for the drink!)

·                     Carryout /Take-out counter: $1 -  $2, 5-10% percent if they show you the food and offer complimentary items.

·                     Food delivery person: $2 minimum. 10%-20%

·                     Pizza Delivery $2 - 5 or 15% to 20%, whichever is greater

·                     Coffee/food retailers w/ tip jars: Tip is optional.

·                     Catering Server: $20 /server. 

·                     Bellhops - $2 minimum  $1+ per bag  $10 for bringing you to your room with luggage; $5 dollars for opening and showing the room .

·                     Bellman (As offered by some D. Moritz ) "If you carry your own bags when you stay at a hotel, you are a loser. You should tip your Bellman EVERY TIME he touches your bags. $5 MINIMUM - $20" (Bite me Mr. Moritz)

·                     Hotel housekeeper/Maid service - $2 - 10 per night. 

·                     Concierge - $5 - $10 . If the concierge suggested and made reservations for you then $20 - $25.

·                     Doorman - $1 / bag or $2 for hailing a cab,  $1 per person

·                     Room Service: 15% - 20%

·                     desk clerk: special services given  - $5

·                     Pool Attendant $1 - $2 for each service -towels or lounge chairs

·                     Valet Attendant: $2 - $5 for each trip to car, more dependant on weather or location

·                     Limousine driver: 20%

·                     Motor Coach Tours  : $1 - $2 /person /day.

·                     Tour Guide / Bus Driver Day Trips Only  $10-15% of the tour cost , $1 to $2 /person /day.

·                     Cruise Ship cabin steward: $3 - $3.50 /day per person

·                     Cruise waiter: $3.00 /day per person

·                     Cruise bus boy: $1.50 /day per person

·                     Cruise cabin boy, bath steward:  5% -8% of total fare divided among them,

·                     Cruise bar steward, wine steward:  15% tip added to bill automatically

·                     Chartered Flights Pilots:  $50-$100+/pilot. Ground Crew extra

·                     Skycap at airport: $1+ / bag curbside; $2 / bag if skycap takes bags to check-in counter.

·                     Electric Cart Transport: $1 - $2

·                     Train Sleeping Car Attendant $3 - $5 / passenger / day

·                     Courtesy Shuttle Driver :  $1 - $2 / person, or $4 - $5 per party

·                     Taxi drivers: 15%-20; an extra $1 to $2 for help with bags

·                     Parking attendant: $1 - $2. If attendant helps with luggage/packages $5 is customary

·                     Gas station attendant: $1 - $2 for pumping gas, $5 for pumping gas and checking fluids

·                     Tow truck operator: locked out of car $5 to $10. Jump Start / Tire Change $3 - $5 , Tow $5 - $20

·                     Mechanic - $10 - 20+ for jobs over $500. , $50 for jobs above $500

·                     Barber/Hairstylist: 10-20%, . "If you do not get your hair cut often, then $5" (Why? Because you owe them a living?)

·                     shampoos personnel: $1 - $5

·                     Manicurist 15%

·                     Spa service 15-20%

·                     Masseuse 10-20% for a one-hour massage (note the tendency to claim your medical benefits and their medical professionalism, yet exercise the extremely unprofessional medical practice of accepting tips)

·                     nutritionist: see above

·                     alternative medical practitioner: see above

·                     Movers: $10-$25 / person. One Person Job $20 - $50

·                     Furniture deliverer: $5-$20. /person 

·                     Building superintendent: Varies

·                     Handyman: Tip is optional.

·                     Contractor Foreman: $50

·                     contractor labor: $30 /worker

·                     dry cleaner:

·                     Lifeguards

·                     ski/snowboard instructors 15-20% . minimum $5 per student

·                     Grocery store bagger: $1 - 3.

·                     butcher

·                     Flower delivery: $2 - 10

·                     Shoe-shiner $2 - 3

·                     Showroom Maitre d': $1 - $2 for preassigned seats. For unassigned seating, you may tip according to where you want to sit. Usually a tip over $50 will guarantee your seat. (I should freakin hope so!)

·                     Sports arena usher: 50¢ - $1 per party if shown to your seats

·                     Clown at children's party: $15 - 25

·                     Dog groomer: 15 %, $2 / dog minimum

·                     Disc Jockey: $1/song.  $5 - 10 for immediate service.

·                     Exotic Club Dancer: sit at the stage minimum $3/song/person.

·                     Tattoo Artist $10-$15 minimum for a $150 tattoo. $20-$50 minimum for a $200 or above tattoo

·                     Casino Blackjack Dealer: $5+ per session. Also it is common to place a bet beside yours for the dealer. (WHY?!)

·                     Craps Dealer: place as much as 10% beside your bet

·                     Drink Waiters: $1+/drink

·                     Keno Writer/Runners: $1 when they first run your ticket, more if you play a lot.

·                     Poker Dealers: $5/session, win or lose. Winners should tip at least $10 (But don't subtract that from the IRS totals folks - they consider it YOUR money)

·                     Roulette Dealers: $5+/session

·                     Slot Attendants: $1 - $2 when they repair your machine, fill it with coin, etc. (Even though that really isn't personal service, now is it?)

·                     Slot Machine Changer: $1+/change served, 10% on a jackpot

·                     Casino security Officers: allowed to accept tips and do greatly appreciate them... (Um, why wouldn't they. I can think of reasons why they SHOULDN'T accept tips)

·                     Casino Cashier: 5% of your cash out if you have a big win. (Guess after all the tips it won't be as big as you thought!)

·                     --- just a question: do the casino staff feel any urges to tip ME if I LOOSE? --- Remember the era when going to Vegas was supposed to be cheap? SOOOOO over.

·                     Weddings: Gratuities are almost always added into the final bill, (but is it then proper to tip the servers? Guess what they suggest) customary addition amount would be up to 15%. This would also include catering managers, hotel banquet managers, waiters, waitresses, bartenders and bridal consultants.

·                     wedding Coat Room Attendants: 50¢/guest.

·                     wedding Florists, Photographers, Bakers, Musicians: only for extra special services, up to 15%. (Why, what'd they do wrong?)

·                     wedding Civil Ceremony Officials: you may find a "suggested" donation . average gratuity $50 - $75. additional for travel.

·                     wedding Clergymen, Rabbis, Priests: $75+ donation is considered proper

·                     wedding Organist: $35 - $50 for each person if not included.

·                     wedding DJ: $25 - $100

.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS!!!! Holiday Tipping!!!!

·                     Newspaper delivery or garbage collectors : $15 to $25

·                     Dog walkers, nannies, or cleaning services: one week's pay +

·                     Manicurists: $10 to $50

·                     Hairdressers: $25 to $100

·                     Apartment Building Staff

·                     Custodian $20 - $30

·                     Cleaning Person - $75

·                     Doormen $25 - $100 each.

·                     Gardener/Yard Worker - $50

·                     Handymen $20 - $30 each

·                     Superintendent $30 - $100

·                     Health Club or Spa / Locker Room Attendant(s) $5 - $10

·                     Trainer(s) $50

·                     Baby Sitter two nights pay or more, maybe a gift as well

·                     Full-time Nanny - $270

·                     Beauty Salon : cost of a regular session plus a gift. No less than $5 per staffer.

·                     Day Care Service $15 - $25 and a gift

·                     Garbage Collector(s) $15 - $20 each

·                     Mail Carrier - The USPS asks that gratuities have a cash value no more than $20 and a letter of appreciation to the supervisor.

·                     Newspaper Delivery Person  Daily delivery $15 - $25

·                     Parking Attendant(s) $10 to $20+ dollars each

Who gets left out  (and some for GOOD reasons - but it just starts to seem like discrimination, doesn't it?)

·                     Receptionists

·                     Tech support/customer service (pop them $20-40 thru paypal?)

·                     airline in-flight personnel

·                     fast food service ("service" being the phenomenally operate word of the debate, right?)

·                     Bus drivers

·                     Theater ushers

·                     Cinema ticket takers/snack counters personnel

·                     Museum guides

·                     Salespeople in general

·                     bank service personnel

·                     loan application personnel

·                     tax preparers

·                     financial advisors

·                     lawyer

·                     Internet installer

·                     blockbuster floor help (helps you find Shrek 3, hand over $2)

·                     police officers

·                     Doctors

·                     Nurses

·                     government workers (generally illegal and considered a bribe)

Argentina - Tipping officially illegal, but waiters expect a small tip

England - 10% if no service charge

France - Up to 10%

Japan - Tips are viewed as insulting

New Zealand - None

South Africa - 10% if no service charge

Thailand - None

1)  "The history of tipping—from sixteenth-century England to United States in the 1910s", Ofer H. Azar

2) "The history of Tipping", Eric Felten

3)  "THE CASE AGAINST TIPPING", Feb-06 Yoram Margalioth

11) "To insure prejudice: racial disparities in taxicab tipping", 01-MAY-05, Ayres, Ian ; Vars, Fredrick E. ; Zakariya, Nasser

©2008 king david caul

Just some more background for better comprehension:

• In This School Year Alone, 24 Students Were Killed (Since September)
• Last school year 34 students were killed (24 of which were gun-related). That's 58 deaths over what amounts to a 17-month period.
• 345 homicides this past year (since June 15, 2007)²
• 87 homicides from January - March this year.² (30 homicides in march, 11 homicides from April 1 - 14 ²)
• 24,652 crimes in the last 30 days.²

And these are record LOWS!

• 770 homicides in Illinois in 2005
• 780 homicides in 2006 (More recent figures were not found, but were projected to rise slightly).
• for 2006 - aggravated assault & batterys: 40,984, sexual assaults: 5,646, robberies: 23,816

On the highways (and I believe dying on the highway means dying on the highway, whether from insurgent IEDs or drunk driving)

• APRIL - 34
• MARCH - 39
• FEBRUARY - 29
• JANUARY - 40

I'm not trying to justify or apologize for any mishandling of Middle Eastern war efforts. But it sickens me that many reject perspective. Every single casualty in an armed conflict zone critical to the future of the handicapped globe is tallied and described to us repeatedly to drive home an agenda and message. Yes it's valid, but the dripping condemnation included in these tallies loses perspective against the truth behind the statistics of violence throughout the world and indeed here at home. The only meaningful debate is the nobility or legitimacy of the war. If it is important or noble, the death toll in Iraq is historically nominal by relevant measure. That's not the same as saying acceptable, but it is an argument for maintaining intelligent perspective.

Of course, the debate on the legitimacy or nobility of this war will be profoundly divisive. But at least it is the real point.

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1. They are perceived and considered to be unimaginative, rather dumb, easily manipulated, and unsophisticated in the resistance to political trickery.

2. They are being taxed into the ground wherever they turn.

 Is there anyone who actually means it when they say they want equality? I'm not sure I believe it anymore. In an ironic twist, most people I know (having lived for quite awhile in Illinois) are exhaustingly bleeding heart, and use the term "equality" to invoke sympathetic endorsements (and "yes, yes" chants from the audience) regarding affirmative-action, entitlements and the like. For these contorted minds, equality means purging one's guilt by overcompensating in the surrendering of any and all advantage to "the other". I'm not sure it even matters who "the other" is. (It works best when the other means minority, though). 

Well, that's not equality.

In my experiences with most minorities (and I mean experiences, not speculations), the incantation of equality flies proudly, high in the sky on the flagpole of righteousness -- but inescapably, it seems it mostly means my turn, advantage-mine-time. OK. Fair enough to want, but it really isn't a true pursuit of equality.

Just what the hell is a level playing field anyway? Yes, it's a fairly rhetorical question... But is there even the possibility for such a thing? Extending the playing field analogy; it can be possible to create a field of competition where no one has to fight uphill. But somebody is still going to have the sun in their eyes! And is it fair at all that we can't control the wind; it can play a major part in advantage! And what about the cheering crowds, if they're not perfectly even in balance and numbers, doesn't this give a moral support advantage to one team? And what about the coin flip at the start of the game? Is there truly such a thing as a perfectly balanced coin? What measures are gone to to ensure the coin has absolutely no distortion in weight?

I'm sorry, but I hate the level playing field analogy. For one, it absolutely defines our lives as a competition against "the other". Sure, there is significant competition in life; but as a higher species, we deserve the chance to try and find time to escape it. Life itself should not be a competition. Myself, I believe life is more about a familiar Shakespeare quote than about competition; "To thine own self be true". I feel life is a balance of survival in a complex culture, and the mystical discovery of who we are and who we can be. The best things in my life have been related to searching for my best abilities. That's not competition. It's not me against any "other".

The other problem I have with the level playing field analogy is simply that nobody really wants sheer equality. EVER!  Extending this sports analogy again; every single team who will walk on the field will absolutely want the sun in their opponent’s eyes, the wind to their own back, the crowd on their side, and the coin toss in their favor. They want advantage! They will exhaustively recruit for the greatest talents available in order to gain genuine advantage! We all want advantage! In a kind world, we all deserve to have advantage in some area; and in America we all deserve to pursue advantage, at any time.

So if somebody, particularly a minority, seeks equal opportunity -- Amen! Let us as a nation do our best to make sure everyone last one of us gets an equal chance to enjoy opportunity. Let's vigorously pursue a nation where no one including minorities is significantly hindered in the pursuit of themselves or their desire for advantage.

But equality is a myth. And when someone says to me there should be equality, even while what they mean in their heart is that they want advantage (and would like me to consequently surrender any advantage I have attained), at this point they insult me. Asking for equality is gently delusional. Asking for it and not even meaning it, is insulting and devious.

If you ask for equality, at least mean it.

DEMOCRATS IN A CIVIL WAR?

(Democrats are from Mercury, Repubicans are from Arlington)

What have we citizens lost?

I'm not talking about 40 years ago, and I'm not talking about 40 years from now; but in the present, the term freedom is frequently an illusion.

I am not talking about Bush and the Patriot Act. Yes, there is shrill noise across the globe complaining about wild losses in our civil liberties and freedoms. By and large, I truly do not know what they're trying to refer to. I personally have never felt any sense of having lost the right to do anything because of the Patriot Act. On the other hand, if it is helping to catch terrorists who would gladly destroy my freedom to be alive, then I'm in favor of the act.

The important freedoms we have lost in United States are not the ones you're probably thinking of. They're bigger than that. They've been eroded slowly over time, and thus have not been so noticeable. But they matter, and they matter a lot!

Let me start with a description of a particular situation:

I'm a single man. I go out to get a couple beers, not because I'm a drunk or I'm angry, but because my job blows. It's dumb. So I go get some beers to forget, to relax - and readjust to a healthier disposition with the world around me.

Suddenly, over next to me, a child arrives, alone and by himself. The child is crying. What do I do?

I'll tell you what I do. I get another beer, set my jaw, and pretend I don't notice. Because I could go to jail for doing anything. My desire and my impulse is to take the child's hand, say something comforting, and set out calmly to find the lost parent. But that would be insane in modern America, unless I could collect other adult witnesses to the situation. Sorry, it would be. Take the child's hand?! With alcohol on my breath? A single man and an unrelated crying child hand-in-hand? I might not go to jail, but I might damn well get arrested. Because I don't actually have the freedom to care. I don't actually have the freedom to get involved. I don't have the freedom to be trusted. I don't have the freedom to be given the benefit of the doubt.

Why don't I have these freedoms? For the same reason you don't have the freedom to leave your door unlocked. For the same reason your children don't have the freedom to go on adventures without an adult. For the same reason you don't have the freedom to drive your car in our urban environments feeling safe that you won't be carjacked. This list goes on.

The root of all of these descriptions is a system of justice which has become obsessed with the phrase "cruel and unusual punishment". We tolerate madness. We tolerate career criminals. We tolerate pedophiles and rapists, the pathological and the sociopaths. Even after conviction, a process that must go to extraordinary lengths to succeed, we feel we must provide niceties and comfort and relief within the punishment prescribed. Our justice system is terrified of being pointed at by someone reciting the phrase "cruel and unusual punishment".

What we get then, is a relatively fearless criminal class. No matter what you do, you will not end up in the sun-baked rock quarry, breaking large rocks into small rocks for the rest of your years. So you don't really have to worry, enjoy your crime spree.

Meanwhile the rest of us, those of us who seek to respect our neighbors and obey the reasonable and necessary laws of the civilized culture, must endure our own brand of cruel and unusual punishment. Gigantic freedoms, freedoms of peace and tranquility and trust, are lost. They've been stolen. Even the freedom to be friendly to children you don't know. Because we can't trust our society any more.

A phrase I have some difficulty with, is the regularly pronounced "better 100 guilty men go free, than an innocent man is convicted". Well, actually... not really. Our law system is in place because we need social order and definitions of proper conduct, and hard responses to significant breaches in this order.

There have always been wars; wars are fought primarily by innocent people, not criminals. They are innocent people who must necessarily make profound sacrifices in the pursuit of the survival of their way of life and their neighbor's way of life. Our justice system is itself a war. It is a war against chaos and crime. There will be innocent victims. The supreme tragedy of an innocent victim, is when it is unnecessary, meaningless, or a distortion and intentional manipulation of true justice. If tough laws and easier prosecution are truly endeavors to rid a soiled, grotesque social landscape of the elements which steal fundamental freedoms from everyone, then this is actually a noble cause. This is a noble cause in our war against criminal cancer threatening the health of the nation. If an innocent man is wrongly convicted by justice system which is actually attempting to achieve a noble goal, it is sad and regrettable, but it is a part of an important battle. Great lengths should be gone to to prevent the innocent from prosecution! On the other hand, when a system seems to bend over backwards to find almost any way possible to prevent the worst elements of society from full and hard prosecution, there are ramifications. We all lose. Talk is cheap, but I genuinely feel I would rather go to jail (an innocent man), then have 100 guilty pedophiles released into my neighborhood. No, it isn't necessarily better to have 100 guilty men go free. Innocent individuals must, will, and have always lost Liberty in the pursuit of noble causes. The question that really matters, is, "is the cause noble?" Indeed, a society free of cruel and pathological crime is a very, very noble cause.

The return of some of the American citizen's greatest freedoms, will begin with a justice system which offers no apology for earnest, aggressive response to significant criminal activity. Our sympathies must lay with the good people in our midst. And the chain gang should replace the cable television in our prisons.

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©2008 King David Caul

It would be very useful to all of us, on all sides of the political divides, to heal broken terminology. We all benefit from accurate and useful terminology.

So what are "talking points"? A summation from the site accessiblesociety.org defines it thus:

"They're brief, one- or two-sentence answers to basic questions that would be asked by anyone who wants to understand your work. They are easily memorized points about your project that you can use over and over to respond to media inquiries. They're useful because they let you quickly provide "the perfect response" to reporters - responses you have thought out and convey exactly what you want to say. "

Wikipedia has a helpful definition which also touches on the potential intentional abuses, which may be used as strategy. We all know the smell of these abuses; they're not that foreign to any of us.

By my definition (in our present day political realm) the term "talking points" is used to mean the reducing of issues to sound bites, for the primary purpose of achieving triggered emotional responses (usually negative) over intellectual responses.

OK. I must now point out that the very term "talking points" has become, ironically, the same device it describes! To call an abbreviated discussion of political issues "talking points", is presently almost always an attempt to reduce the presented position to an instantaneous, emotional response of rejection. "Talking points" usually means "bad". Doesn't it? It doesn't investigate, and it doesn't invite investigation. It means "bad" - worthy of dismissal.

If someone hears someone else speak, and feels the speaker has not truly addressed or investigated a list of issues, but rather has used popular buzzwords to trigger specific negative emotional responses, the last thing the audience member should do is call the speech they've heard "talking points". Because by doing so, they have used a popular buzzword to trigger a specific negative emotional response.

Perhaps "talking points" deserves its negative implications in situations where it leaves no room for response, or dialog. It is a useful term, but in that it has become attached to a negative judgmental perception, it no longer can effectively describe well-intentioned situations. Either "talking points" needs to be used strictly for description of endlessly repeated half truths and/or lies, or the negative tone and sneer on the face when reciting the (endlessly repeated) term should be avoided, and consequently we can then freely use the term to describe a positioned summation of political conditions and circumstances. The latter being something which is almost utterly constant in almost any political environment or discussion, and therefore not particularly evil by default!

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©2008 KING DAVID CAUL

Ironic content floats to the surface of The Magic Candidate's campaign and his wondrously shiny oratory masterpiece.

• Barack Obama is a black man. But his mother is white...So how much "black" does it require to befit this title or status? Does ANY strain of black blood raise one to this stature? If the cradle of civilization was in Africa, are we not ALL black then. Good, we're all black. Now are we done?
• Barack is half white. Why then, was it extremely easy for him to strongly disown Don Imus (for example) -- Is Imus not our (typical) white community. (The rev. Wright no doubt believes that Imus represents the character of the white community). Is not Imus's error the result of socio-economic rationales -- which a good orator could make sound valid and, well, defendable? So, Barack can and does disown the white community, but can't and wont disown the black community. Oprah left that church, has Oprah disowned the black community? In truth, the reverend represents the BLACK THEOLOGY community, which strongly advocates racial divides and orientations. (But Barak wants us to unite?)

(Obama told ABC News "I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus...but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude.'' ''He didn't just cross the line ...He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America.'' April 11, 2007)

• Barack bases his campaign on JUDGMENT, and the courage to address this realm of race. (Only, why hadn't he particularly helped us perceive this important issue till the Wright crisis?) He invokes us to address racial issues... but obscured his stance with a long, diversionary parable about "mustard and relish sandwiches". What did we learn from that?! It's POSSIBLE to get along? Gosh, Really?!
• Barack is identified by his mentor/advisor as a poor minority, who sits with his poor underprivelidged wife in a congregation which has included the likes of multi-billionaire Oprah Winfrey. There, sermons by a wealthy reverend have preached the "testament" of how poor and oppressed the congregation and their kind are. (And Obama having attended a private expensive prep school in Hawaii, and ivy league college with his wife).
• Obama says in an interviewwith the Tribune-Review "Here is what happens when you just cherry-pick statements from a guy who had a 40-year career as a pastor." But all allegations of "cherry-picking" should acknowledege that, primarily, the cherry-picking was conducted BY THE CHURCH AND THE REVEREND! These recordings are (were) sold as "greatest hits" compilations; which they are (were) clearly PROUD OF. If these were unfortunate sermons delivered on a personally weak afternoon, they might be regretted after the fact - but they would not be compiled and stocked on the store's shelves. These are (were) celebrated positions we are seeing!
• Barack is a candidate who claims he seeks to unite not divide...But in fact, is he not factually and fundamentally far left (CLEARLY defined by his Illinois voting record), and thus neither particularly mainstream nor bipartisan?
• Barack seems to be VERY serious about dumping lots of money on education...it isn't a bad idea, but it isn't necessarily the best solution, or even insightful. In Illinois, for which he is a frequently non-voting senator, the education system might well be suffering more from the activities of the teacher's unions, with regular strikes to demand ever more concessions, including guarantees that a teacher can never be fired FOR INCOMPETENCE. It might not be simply a function of money.
• In his grand address to our suffering nation, Obama would like to make racial divides explainable by referring to the generational context, yet Wright/Obama's congregation consists of black youth, clapping and cheering at the hateful and divisive speech as well.
• ..."They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear" So, Trinity services have acceptable and/or reasonable racism, we simply haven't the sophistication to hear them in the proper way. Um, that's kind of divisive. (And purely ridiculous).
• Barack suggests he is going to lead us through this thorny racial mess. He knows the way. (He learned from 20 years with spiritual advisors?)
• Barack seems to infer or directly claim great understanding on the issue of race; he possesses an informed multi-viewed, wise and considered perspective. And yet, he does not even seem to quite get what the big deal about the pastor is! Barak might seem, in analysis, to be slow, deceptive, or even racist.
• In his speech, his grandmother was not defended for her inner heart's fears, nor are the sources of her fears addressed, but a preaching, hate-mongering reverend IS rationalized and explained away. His issues are given a source and a basis (of legitimacy?)
• Barack also states, "Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism. " OK, This is not MEANT TO BE DIVISIVE! (It just ended up that way.) And please note: you can't talk about racism if you're conservative. That is "bogus". You must be liberal to speak justly about racism.
• Barack is critical of our large busnesses moving their workplace overseas. Yet, he is far-left, and fully ready to levy some healthy taxation on these 'profit-makers'. That should keep them here at home!
• How are his stances on "self-help" consistent with his illuminating revival of the lesson "let me be my brother's keeper". Does that sound like entitlement programs barreling at us? Self-help?
• Obama declared the Reagan Coalition as having come to power on a wave of racism. That's divisive. Sorry.
• Consider, the illuminations on our racial divide were shared with us by Barack on a day when a black golf genius used his elite PGA success to buy a $65 million dollar home in the blue-blooded HAMPTONS!
• Barack challenged America to confront the race issues deeply, openly, and honestly; Race is now an issue, he has 'licensed' us to deal with it. Great. Please guide us Senator; Please answer unequivocally; 1) Should blacks accept responsibility for the high numbers of single-parent families or for the high crimes rates in their community 2) Should we terminate resentment-breeding affirmative action and racial preference programs? 3)Will you, Barack Obama, publicly renounce Black Liberation Theology as divisive by nature? 4) What stance do you take on reparations? 5) Are you going to shrink or bloat the welfare state? 6) Are you in favor of eliminating the NAACP, the Black Business Directory, Black Miss USA pageant, and the long list of organizations which enjoy the privilege of legalized race discrimination?
• In his speech, Barack defines social illness where-by "black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations." It is a valid and important point. But following this reasoning, Barack should clearly present his position on the "Death Tax", a mechanism which restricts ALL American's ability to pass their wealth on to future generations.
• By stating his grandmother is a "typical white person", he is engaging in the racial stereotyping, shortly after he brought her to our attention for her sad indiscretion of racial stereotyping. Is Barack a "typical black man"?Does he even recognize the "typical white" reaction to the blame diffusion? It seems Wright and Obama can identify racism, and have context for their failings, but whites are just supposed to repair their feelings toward double-standards or blame.