How Much?
Back in the “before times” when we went out to dinner at restaurants, my wife and I always had discussions about how much to tip the servers. I was pretty much a twenty-percent guy unless something extraordinary happened. It seemed fair, and easy to figure: move the decimal and double the amount. No calculators needed.
My wife worked in the food service industry at one point in her life. So she’d lobby for a bigger tip almost every time, and occasionally throw in extra no matter what I considered fair. It was never worth too much discussion. We both realized that people worked hard so we could enjoy our meal, and more tip was better.
And when I coached I often had my athletes out to dinner. I made sure to discuss with them what an appropriate tip would be. After the meal, I’d glance around the table. If I saw that the server was shorted, I made sure to make up for my skimpy tipping charges.
Bad Service
But there were those rare times when things were awful. The service, food, or the server: what should we do about the tip in that kind of situation? If you didn’t leave a tip at all, then there was always the question, “did the customer forget?” Some folks solve that problem by leaving the most insulting tip of all: one penny. That way, the server knew the service was intolerable.
It’s not how I would do it. The manager and I would have already had a discussion before I reached the “penny tip” stage – waiting until the end is far too passive/aggressive. Sitting through an entire meal frustrated and angry without complaint was not my style. And as I got older, I got more than willing to voice my criticisms. I guess I’ve become that guy (I think it was my Dad).
COVID Relief
The COVID pandemic created one of the worst economic crises in American history. In spite of what the President continues to say, there are still over 11 million Americans who have not gone back to work. And the number suffering is even greater, as restaurants try to survive at 50% occupancy, and millions have “left” the workforce and stopped looking for employment.
The Congressional reaction to the pandemic in April was reasonable. Money was put into the industries that were obviously damaged: transportation, entertainment, and education to name a few. Unemployment, usually half of what employment paid at best, was supplemented by a $600/week stipend. And most Americans got a $1200 “tax refund” that wasn’t going to impact 2020 taxes. It was all the right things to mitigate the damages done by a nation slowed to a crawl by pandemic control efforts.
But in May, it became clear that “the economy” was the only way that Republicans could win the November election. The United States “had” to recover, and the only way was to force states to “re-open”, despite the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. So Republican Governors opened their states, and Democratic Governors and Mayors were faced with Federal pressure to open, “or else”.
Getting folks to go back to work in a pandemic required them to face financial pressure. If they didn’t have other alternatives, any protective relief packages, then most would find a way to make money, COVID or no. So the United States Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, decided that there was no need for additional COVID relief. They adjourned.
The Democratic Plan
Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic House of Representatives passed a massive COVID relief package. The original plan was over $3 Trillion in spending. That included more PPP (payroll protection plan), extended unemployment supplements, massive aid to public education institutions for COVID protection and testing and another “tax rebate”. The Democratic plan was to spend enough to keep stimulating the economy, while making it safer for the “essential workers”, the ones working because they had to, pandemic or not.
McConnell found that at least twenty Republican Senators refused to negotiate any COVID relief at all. That left him needing Senate Democrats to get any kind of relief passed. Instead of negotiating with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the House passed package already on his desk, McConnell refused to even discuss the issue. He passed the negotiating over to the White House. Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Speaker Pelosi were left to find some solution, while McConnell reserved the right to “veto” any agreement they reached.
The summer dragged on, with no COVID-relief in sight. Pelosi, in order to further the process, passed a slimmed down $2.4 Trillion package. But the Senate still failed to take any action. When the Senate returned in September, McConnell’s sole focus was getting the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat filled. That process has moved along at an extremely fast pace, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett likely to be approved by a narrow margin next week. But as far as COVID-relief is concerned, the Senate remained silent.
Skinny Relief
Tuesday, two weeks before the election, Senator McConnell put a $500 Billion package on the Senate floor for consideration. He’s forced a vote “for the record”. Republicans can vote for this “skinny bill” and go home to close their campaigns. They can claim that “they wanted relief”. Democrats, knowing that it’s not enough, will have to choose. Either vote down the “skinny bill” and face charges of not caring about “common people”, or vote for a bill that simply isn’t good enough.
Leader McConnell and the Senate Republicans are offering a “penny tip”. They are making sure we know that they considered COVID-relief, but really aren’t interested in doing much about it. McConnell knows that $500 billion isn’t enough, and not likely to pass the House of Representatives anyway. It’s just another insult to the people who are really serving this country – going out in a pandemic world to do their job.
Senate Democrats and Speaker Pelosi are responding to McConnell’s offer.
Keep the penny.
