My wife was a scholarship student at a fairly upscale exclusive college. The ones that had the most were the worst when it came to covering their share at the diner or tipping. Those that inherit are the worst - those that worked hard and did well are better.

As a rule, IMO, those that work hard for a living tip well - AND give a larger percentage of their income to charity as well.

There are exceptions - a few old money scions will surprise you with their generosity but most spoiled nouveau riche that made their money too easily (think execs with stock options) are cheap beyond belief.

I was most impressed with a member of the 400 - who earned a place on the philanthropy list the same year. He gave away most of what he made - proudly enabling others to do what he had not been able to. He started out with nothing, did well in life and shared his success - a rarity. At one charitable event he goaded a friend - also a member of the 400 - into buying, as he had, a new library for a NYC public school. I think the tab for that was a half million. Those libraries served to revitalize the schools they were in - and became community centers as well.

His own children complained that their father had not left them enough cash to cover the estate tax due on their inheritance...... not that they had any reason to complain...... quite a contrast to Walton's heirs.

No. It is their money and they don't like sharing it. That is why they vote Republican.

Tips are not given or expected in New Zealand. Down there they pay a living wage even to restaurant and service workers.

Because my father was a waiter, I was always conscious of the difficulties of the job. Two behaviors came out of that:
1. I talk to the waitperson as I would want to be talked to, and always thank him/her for the service (unless the person was obnoxious or rude to me).
2. I always leave 18-20% (even if the person was obnoxious or rude: the tip is about paying for a service provided, not the person's disposition)

So we have a lot of jobs that do not pay enough to live on. A reasonable life depends on the whims of the clients. I guess that is what is meant by just scratching by. I wonder how many of these people can afford a home or health insurance. What type of schools do their children attend? I guess if you are a child growing up in a family with limited income, crime may be attractive. Self sustaining tragedy. If you don't allow a person self respect and hope you get what you pay for. Every year laws are passed about overpopulated incarceration facilities so we put them back on the street. While they are there, they sit around and compare notes on easy prey. This isn't class envy, this is flat out criticism. The rich have always had to be reined in and for the last seven years there has been no one jerking on the reins. If you are rich and taking so much from the country and its people and are unwilling to do your part to make the system succeed then you do not care if the country lasts. This tells us whether we need you or not. This country has the highest percentage of guns per capita so you might just want to call your congress person and ask them to tax you more. Either to build more prisons so the predators you help to create stay off the streets or give them a reason not to become predators.

When I was a bartender the worst tippers were #1 doctors and #2 lawyers. The best were blue collar workers, hairdressers, other wait staff, cops, etc.

Here comes another "class envy" story. Another chance for the Libs to bash the rich.

Here's a general tip: If you made your money working hard, or if your parents did, you'll generally be a good tipper.

But if you're a cheap bastard, or a spoiled child, you won't tip.

My father was a waiter at the El Morocco in its hey day, and he'd come home with some interesting stuff:
CHEAP TIPPERS:
Errol Flynn
Dan Topping (owned the Yankees)
Cardinal Spellman

Here's a myth buster: he said that some of the best tippers were Jewish.

If you have to survive by diving for coins does it matter if the rich are big tippers? If you live on tips you are already a failure.

I don't care what their survey says, I've worked on the bar for several years in the catering industry and I can tell before the night begins how much I'll end up with in tips at the end just by the income bracket the people I'm serving are in, and it certainly is an inverse relationship. The gratuities from the bill will be larger from the more affluent parties, as they sure can throw a fine party, but as for out-of-hand tips, the richer certainly do give less than the middle class or lower class on the whole. There is the rare case of getting a $20 from one really well-off guy the odd night, but that doesn't add up to the $1-$2 I'd get from every second person from a less affluent gig. Of course, you don't get rich by throwing your money on 'the lesser folk' do you?