totalitarian creep: gratuity automatically added to charges at restaurants

[nannah]

at first i was irritated by the presumption of a set "tip", until it occurred to me that this wasn't about assurring a "gratuity" to the waitperson, but all about assuring the IRS a record of tips received.... got to collect all those tax dollars lost by misrepresentation of tip income from wait persons in america. here comes a rightous finger of authority reaching into the privacy of wait persons.

i'm disturbed by the way the power structure seems to focus it's might on unlikely targets. why go focused on capturing lost tip income????? in stead of??? cracking down on all those before tax luxuries enjoyed by the professional and investing classes; prosecuting white collar crime that destroys the lives of millions; the list could be extended forever by the creative minds here at du.

but somehow, when i really understood why, just recently, restaurant credit card processing was automatically adding a "gratuity" to your bill, i felt overwhelmed by the creeping menace represented by changes in our country since i began paying attention in the 60's.

in peter matthiesson's book, "in the spirit of crazy horse" about the circumstances surrounding leonard peltier's prosecution: while everyone was watching the wounded knee drama unfold, the government was quietly maneuvering to grab the uranium rights under the ground. the government game of distraction.... look over here, look over here.... don't notice what i am doing so very quietly over her.

this tightening of the irs noose around the necks of wait persons who might collect tips that aren't all reported is the kind of quiet stuff that is so overwhelmingly creepy and menacing.... the implementation of quiet laws and policy changes that reach out and affect millions with minimal fan fare; a process that goes unnoticed by most of us until suddenly some element of our life is ensnared.

[nannah]

1. i am not a wait person, this is not a rant about my ox being gored

it is about the way loss of rights and privacy happens, you hardly notice at first, but it is not the start in cold water, bring to boil analogy, it is "there are so many possible targets that one near you hasn't been hit....yet scenario."