Tom Emmer reminds me of those two whacky dudes from Wayne’s World (a movie I walked out of by the way) and I react to him the same way I did the movie!
by Charlie Leck
One of Tom Emmer’s first big ideas, should he be elected Governor of Minnesota, would be to reduce the income of those high paid waiters and waitresses around town. Brilliant, Tom! Brilliant!
I’ll tell you, this man has got a brain doesn’t he! He wants to help the small businessmen who run restaurants and the consumers who dine at these restaurants. I’ll get to the whole story in a minute, but first I have a question.
Why doesn’t Tom Emmer think about another proposal that would make tipping more than seven percent on any restaurant tab illegal? That would really help the consumer. I, for example, wouldn’t need to be so red-faced when I leave my meager tips when I dine out.
Then he could also take all food servers, chefs, cooks, bus boys and girls (and, oh hell, throw in the maitre de) off the minimum wage eligibility list. Who needs good service at a restaurant anyway? If we would all dine at the Old Country Buffet it wouldn’t matter.
In Minnesota, the wait-staff at restaurants must be paid the minimum wage (currently ranging between $5.15 and $6.25 per hour) and they are allowed tips income as well. Mr. Emmer proposes removing them from that list of workers who must be paid a minimum wage.
Oh, my! I don’t expect the Restaurant Workers Union is going to support Mr. Emmer in his campaign. I can’t imagine too many people who are employed as wait staff will support him either.
Emmer, by the way, has made a claim that there are waiters around town pulling down a hundred grad a year (see here). The goofy gubernatorial candidate also claims Minnesota dining prices are comparable to those in NY and California (see here). Common, Goofy! You don't travel much, I take it. Does Mr. Emmer understand that most of these wait staff jobs don't include health care coverage (see here)? City Pages, with tongue in cheek, claims the Dude has found a way to fix the economy by attacking waiters and waitresses! Bureau of Labor statistics actually point out that the average waiter/waitress annual income is about 23 grand and bartenders make a couple thousand less (see here)! Flapper lips Emmer just doesn't know when to quit! If he'd pay his own bills a few people out there would make a lot more and the state would collect more income taxes. Pay your bills, Mr. Emmer! We have to! Join the club!
MNPublius warns us that there is some significance to the fact that waiters and waitresses are the first of Minnesota's working class that Tom Emmer sees fit to attack (see here)!
I personally think Tommy-tom-tom-dumb-dumb should propose waiving the minimum wage requirement for the CEOs of Minnesota's 20 largest corporations -- you know, those guys making $500,000 and more (with side benefits garnering some of them earnings into the millions and millions of dollars annually). No sense having those companies forced to pay minimum wages! Let those CEO live on their bonuses and stock options!
Tonight, at dinner, at my favorite restaurant, Pittsburgh Blue, I’ll take a photo of my favorite waitress so I can post it here with this blog and I’ll ask her to tell me, without profanity, what she thinks of Mr. Emmer’s proposal.
Chow, for now!
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I just don’t enjoy dining anywhere as much as I do
at Pittsburgh Blue.
I only wish that you had been there too.
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