It feels like I see it everywhere I go. 

Strawberries that I used to buy for $2.99 suddenly cost double that amount. The Dollar Tree is now the dollar and 25¢ tree and despite the sudden rise of minimum wage, I still hear stories of people struggling to get by. 

I could write a 10 page essay on the current state of the economy, but I decided to save you the headache and just focus on one of the most absurd trends I have observed over the last few years. Tipping culture.

Tipping 20%  of my bill to a waiter who makes well under minimum wage is reasonable. Sparing an extra $5 to the delivery man? I get it. But should I really be expected to tip a frozen yogurt worker who watched me make my own food from behind the counter? 

I understand that these workers may be making a low income but why should that fall back onto me? A college student who is also making a laughable amount of money! I’m even okay with tipping a barista, especially when it comes to small businesses. But I find it funny that large corporations like Sweet Frog and Starbucks make it the consumer’s responsibility to pay their workers when Starbucks made over $26.58 billion in sales last year. That is more than enough money to pay workers a livable wage… and then some.

And these companies know this! They know that paying $10 an hour in this economy is nothing close to “livable” but if they convince their workers and customers that it’s their responsibility to make those few extra bucks a shift, it’s no skin off their back. 

This “consumer help consumer” mindset that has already been accepted by so many Americans is unreasonable and unjust. Instead of blindly accepting that this is just “the way things are,” we need to hold big corporations accountable.

I know it would be unreasonable for me to demand that every person who reads this article stops going to Starbucks, and if I’m honest I will probably still tip the barista the next time I feel my order is excessively complicated, but being knowledgeable about the injustices in the world is the first step in changing it.

Hannah Bulgrin is an opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected].