Cuomo may want to heed Kenny Rogers
The NYS wage board will be holding hearings on a proposal to raise and equalize minimum wages in the restaurant industry in NY. The proposal is vehemently opposed by those workers who would be most affected: servers who depend on tip income to make a decent living. Theirs is a just cause, since more studies need to be done before such wholesale changes in the restaurant industry are adopted. Raising the minimum wage of non tipped restaurant workers a couple of years ago was, in my view, a reasonable change that benefitted a wide swath of minimally paid workers. This proposal is different, as it appears it may do more harm than good.
I have spent a lifetime in law, politics, government and teaching. I would always tell my college age students that there are two schools of thought in government: “Don’t just stand there, do something!”, and “Don’t just do something, stand there”. The key to success in government is knowing when to act and when not to, and if you choose to act, it is important to get it right, lest you do more harm than good. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke. don’t fix it!” Adopting wholesale changes in the method of compensating tipped workers has the potential of devastating the incomes of many single moms and other servers who often earn much more in tips than they do in wages. It may also cause many restaurants to close, cut staff, or raise prices. The idea of tipped service is a sensible one. The better the service, the higher the tip, and the happier the customer is as well. That is not a malevolent formula for fair and just compensation. Surely, more must be done to compensate the non tipped worker, but at whose cost?
In Saratoga, where I live, it is a hot topic of conversation. I know that because as a single person, I eat out more frequently, and I hear it from waiters, waitresses, and bartenders alike. They may not have been a very politically active group until now, but when they feel their toes are being stepped on by this Governor, they are organizing to push back, and rightly so. After all, this is an election year.
I have been a supporter of this Governor for many years. He has achieved much, but he has also made some serious mistakes in governing as well. Hopefully, the good outweighs the bad, but making policy choices that could result in significant harm to a wide sector of the restaurant service industry, without more study and weighing of the pros and cons would be a huge mistake. It might be a good idea to get the legislature involved in the process as well, so it is not viewed as a gubernatorial fiat, which it would be.
A wise “political philosopher” singer Kenny Rogers put it best. “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run...”. Our Governor , and the people of the State of NY, might be well served in this instance by his tuning in to the Kenny Rogers channel.
John T. Sullivan Jr. Saratoga Springs