The median income for tipped waitstaff is $16.94 per hour. That includes cafes and such; for "nice" restaurants it's obviously much higher. Which is why restaurant employees also fight tooth and nail for tips to continue.
Essentially no one in the food service industry is having their wages subsidized up to the regular minimum wage level (except maybe in states with very high minimum wages), though I am sure employers prefer tipping so they don't have to think about it. But the notion those are the only people it helps is weird.
Essentially no one in the food service industry is having their wages subsidized up to the regular minimum wage level (except maybe in states with very high minimum wages), though I am sure employers prefer tipping so they don't have to think about it. But the notion those are the only people it helps is weird.