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During the Gilded Age this began to change. Americans increasingly traveled to Europe, where they quickly noticed the longstanding practice of tipping. Hoping to appear cosmopolitan, wealthy travelers brought back the custom. The fad quickly took hold. In the 1910s, more than 10 percent of the labor force accepted tips for their services...
Although new to the country, Americans quickly outpaced Europeans in tips. While at the turn of the century, European tips were typically five percent of the bill, in America tips had already crept up to 10 percent. We became a nation of tippers and have not stopped greasing the hands that feed...
Since then, American tips have grown even bigger, while Europeans have forgotten their munificence. Today in Western Europe, moderate service charges are often tacked onto bills. Even in the U.K. a paltry 10 percent tip is the norm in restaurants. In Eastern Europe and in much of Scandinavia, tipping is not expected, but occasionally done, and in countries like Japan, New Zealand, and Vietnam, tipping is simply not practiced...
This mixture of self-interest, pride, and kindness seems distinctively American, in the best tradition of a pushy, bold, but charitable people. With this national character, tipping is bound to continue and even expand. Many restaurants are now adding a mandatory service charge (sometimes up to 18 to 20 percent) to checks, and some consumers have even started tipping Starbucks baristas. As we enter what some call a second Gilded Age, it is appropriate that we may see increased tipping...
Given China’s economic size and importance, ensuring a positive U.S.-Chinese relationship is essential to both countries’ economic stability. The U.S. and China together account for more than 40 percent of global growth in the last five years. So far this year, the U.S. has imported more goods from China than from any other country except Canada, and China has been our fourth-greatest consumer of exports (after Canada, Mexico, and Japan). Given the intertwined nature of our business interests, any legislation that directly hurts China’s economy will also indirectly harm ours...