Why is Tipping Un-American?

photo credit: NYT 

It would appear that Jason's signs and posters in his Filling Station and Bar-B-Q present a coherent and typical politics of a New Deal Democrat. In our discussions, we had difficulty placing his "TIPPING IS UN-AMERICAN--KEEP YOUR CHANGE!" handmade sign amidst his NRA (National Recovery Administration, which was the agency primarily responsible for setting up the New Deal), TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), and American Legion posters.

The opposition to tipping in America began in the 1890s and continued through the 1930s.  Before the Civil War, tipping was uncommon in the U.S. By the late 19th century, however, the custom was imported from Europe and caused Americans to worry that tipping would create a master-and-servant dynamic between the tipper and tippee and hinder the ability for workers to earn a fair -- and agreed upon -- wage. Accusations of "un-American-ness" were hurled at the practice because it resembled European aristocratic and class stratified customs. Some recipients of tips resented being given them because they associated tips with low- or un-skilled labor (i.e. the shoe shine boy vs. a restaurant owner), but the largest argument against tipping was born out of concerns for fair wages and workers' rights. The argument against tipping aimed to support workers' rights to a fair wage provided by employers; if you think about it, tip-heavy professions, such as restaurant work, allows employers to divert the responsibility to pay their workers to the customers and their whims. By the turn of the century, editorials against tipping appeared in major newspapers, such as the NYT and the Washington Post, and opponents of tipping formed an anti-tipping union:

In 1904, the Anti-Tipping Society of America sprang up in Georgia, and its 100,000 members signed pledges not to tip anyone for a year. Leagues of traveling salesmen opposed the tip, as did most labor unions. In 1909, Washington became the first of six states to pass an anti-tipping law. But tipping persisted. The new laws rarely were enforced, and when they were, they did not hold up in court. By 1926, every anti-tipping law had been repealed. (source here)

Jason might come across as curmudgeonly and patriotic, but he would unlikely support "rugged individualism" and capitalism that lacks regulation over collective organization and social welfare. He just draws a hardline between New Deal social programs and Communism.