Originally Posted by
bulldoggolfer05
I'm sorry but to imply that housekeepers are so underpaid that it necessitates tipping (as seems to be a huge undertone here) is quite frankly a lie. Housekeepers may be underpaid, yes, but many professions are (educators, police officers, etc), but they're not paid so little that they could not make a living if tips were not involved (unless you're talking about supporting large families, of which I know middle class families who still struggle with this). A friend of mine's mom is a housekeeper here in Las Vegas and her dad is a simple mechanic, yet they still manage to get by, her having just graduated from Notre Dame (not a cheap school by any means) and the entire family having just moved to a rather nice (albeit modest) home on the SE side of town.
I understand the point that you are trying to make, but your example fails to set out a persuasive argument. We don't know what other sources of revenue the family may have such as other familial assistance, the deal/debt that they got on their home, and the sources of financial aid for college that they received. More importantly, we don't know if any of these would have been possible without tips.
A more persuasive argument would be for us to know how much a housekeeper makes before and after tiips.