McDonald's has been paying $22 an hour for years on the Eastside. Workers actually get pretty good pay around Seattle. It still doesn't go very far though, because housing is fucking ridiculous.

I don’t know about the U.S. If the pay or work conditions seem exploitative (incl. taking cost of living into account), then I don’t support that exploitation by going there.

Tipping is bizarre to me and and still not divorced from its ugly origins in Europe and U.S. Not many industries can say “hey, we treat our staff terribly, but you can make up for it if it bothers you that much” and maintain clientele. But for the hospitality industry, they haven’t moved on from exploitation and we’re complicit by entertaining them.

https://www.povertylaw.org/article/the-racist-history-behind-americas-tipping-culture/