Waiters and waitresses, barbers and hairdressers, and delivery drivers, make a large portion of their income through tips. Tips are especially important for restaurant servers as, believe it or not, the federal minimum wage in 2024 for tipped employees is only $2.13. Yours truly started waiting tables in 1992, and that’s the same rate restaurants were paying then. Of course, many states have raised that wage, but the federal government has not.
Whatever you think of the current proposals to stop the IRS from taxing tips, one thing everyone knows is that the idea belongs to Donald J. Trump. He floated the idea at a June, 2024 campaign rally.
Then, just as she swiped the presidential nomination, America’s least-favorite Democrat Kamala Harris is stealing Trump’s idea. The cackler in chief is now energizing the crowds at her rally by promising to take tips off the table for the tax man. This isn’t particularly surprising, given the source. But what may irk you more is how the mainstream media is colluding with it.
When Trump suggested it, they scorned him. When Kamala swiped it, they cheered her. Take a look at this headline comparison:
It couldn’t be more brazen. Everything Trump does and says must be evil no matter what. CBS News was motivated to frame Trump’s proposal as a blow to the treasury, but when Harris came out with the same line, there was no such framing. Nor was there any acknowledgment of the hollow candidate’s idea thievery.
It’s reminiscent of the media’s contrived outrage over the fact that Kamala Harris was put in charge of stopping the influx of illegal immigrants. The press is fixated on claiming that she was not appointed “border czar” by formal legislation using that exact title. “See! Republicans lie! Nobody officially named her ‘border czar!’” But the media did, in fact, routinely call her “border czar” until it was no longer convenient. Leftist digital pulp outlet Axios had to eat its own words when it blasted Republicans for calling Harris the border czar. Check it out:
And then:
It’s hard to say what the American public will make of Harris’ policy sleight of hand, but social media users aren’t shy about sharing their view of the lying media:
Can we get some praise for Elon Musk for preserving at least one public forum where people can tell the truth?
This user pointed out the flip side of consumers not mistrusting the media enough:
So people that make most of their money in tips wont have to pay taxes That is BS. I know someone that makes over 5000 a month in tips.
The problem is government spending…not the taxation of citizens. There shouldn’t even be an income tax. You’re in need of a good education.