The proliferation of promiscuous tipping is indicative of a bunch of the problems currently at play in America. What is promiscuous tipping? Pretty much anything except giving a cabbie or a waitress 15 percent on top of the bill for decent service. Or throwing a few bucks to a bellboy when he brings up your bags. Or an extra $20 when the delivery guys who aren’t supposed to carry things upstairs help you out by carrying your furniture or whatever up the stairs. Look, tipping is a good thing when used properly. It rewards good service. It provides an incentive for quality. And it’s also a way to help somebody who’s working hard. So, I’m not against tipping — not at all. I’m against tipping abuse, and I was potentially tip-abused today.

Now, some folks don’t like tipping, and I don’t understand that. It’s something we do as a culture. Americans tip. As conservatives, we should celebrate useful traditions, and this is a tradition that promotes positive values like hard work and good service. I think it’s classy to tip well. I think it’s unspeakably unclassy not to. Again, it’s a cultural thing. You’re born into this culture, or you joined it, and you should honor that tradition. You should stop whining about throwing an extra 15 percent on because that’s part of the price.

But all tipping is not created equal, particularly the tipping insanity we see today. Some tipping is a pleasure, like the tip I left on the table at the diner Irina and I frequent. The lovely ladies there know my favorite orders — I don’t have to explain how I like my cheeseburger with everything on it, or how I like my California burrito without French fries but with guacamole. They always say “Hi” and smile, and the three of us always chat pleasantly — with Irina sometimes falling into Spanish with them, which means I assume they’re talking smack about me. And when my burger comes, I always get a little side of mayo for my fries, a result of living in........

© Townhall