A Debate With Logical-Master

Who said I disagreed with your stance? I do, but you shouldn't assume so quickly. ---COUNTERARGUMENTS--- My opponent's argument is deeply flawed. He starts off assuming that people tip because of "guilt trips". And continues on by assuming that restaurant owners intentionally pay waiters low because of this tipping complex. However, Logical-Master does not provide the much-needed evidence to state such a controversial claim. In other words, my opponent bears the burden of proof. You, the audience, must not take this argument into consideration. Again, Logical-Master must prove these claims to be true. He has not. My opponent then goes on to cite a man by the name of William Michael Lynn. However, he has a conflict of interest. Lynn sells rather-pricey online books that tell waiters how to maximize the amount of tips they get.[1] Of course he would state that the actual service is not important! He is in the business of selling such a philosophy. The argument that tips are not based on service must be ignored because the argument is derived from a biased man. Logical-Master then goes on to state that "26 BILLION dollars goes into tipping every YEAR in the United States alone". Well, what's wrong with that? There are 300 million people that live in the United States. That means on average, each person gives about 87 dollars in tips. And if we take a liberal estimate of a 15% tip, that means that $575 would be spent on dine-in food, and $45 every month. This pretty much checks out. What is the problem? Ultimately, all this false information and logic finally culminates in my opponent's final argument. He states that servers know the gamble they are taking when they take the job. However, in these cases, the gamble these servers take, come with the assumption that they will receive tips for their work. Who are we to take money away from these people? And furthermore, in many cases, the servers are in rough periods in their lives. Much of the time, these servers are college students and people down in their luck. They need our help. ---ARGUMENTS--- A mandatory gratuity is necessary because... 1) Often times, African Americans tip too little. Subsequently, waiters have a tendency not to serve blacks as well.[2] Having a mandatory standard in a restaurant would ensure that less racism would occur in customer-server relationships. 2) As mentioned before, servers are often people starting out, or down in their lives. These people are aspiring actors, college students, people who have run into bad luck, aspiring writers, and other such people. These people need help to go on to lead more successful and contributing lives. A mandatory gratuity would help this ideal. 3) An automatic gratuity would alleviate the stress and confusion that comes with tipping. According to Lynn's own study, 63% of blacks and 30% of whites did not understand the standard tip in the United States.[2] 4) In following with the above mentioned statistic, waiters would not be cheated out of their tip. 5) Tipping encourages good. To give someone something of yours of value enhances the human spirit.[3] Not to mention, it will give you a good feeling inside.[4][5] ---REFERENCES--- [1] http://people.cornell.edu... [2] http://www.npr.org... [3] http://www.realage.com... [4] http://brainwaves.corante.com... [5] http://www.zimmerman-lehman.com...