The Economics of an American Piano Player

I’m not an economist, but the math doesn’t add up here: for all the supposed freedoms US citizens are promised, there are equal excuses as to why some of us aren’t granted the same liberties. Clearly some feel its constitution applies only to “citizens,” not “residents,” but how does it apply to the upper class vs. the poor? If free speech applies to a multi-billion dollar corporation where money is considered speech, then doesn’t the megaphone of corporate hedge funds drown out one tiny human voice? In theory, service industry employees earn tips based on their quality of service, but in practice the largest corporations offer both paltry pay and customer service. Their bottom line is how many dollars make it to the top investors, and at the bottom wages of $2.13/hour tipped employees absolutely depend on that increasingly deceptive gratuity from customers. In the Southeast United States, tipping culture is especially pronounced and encouraged. Throwing a crisp $20 bill at someone is a flash of wealth and generosity, but it became a carnival game for many astute piano bar players on a certain cruise line of a familiar name. Las Vegas card dealers and piano players churn through tipping tourists where cash abounds and dreams are shattered on the street in poverty. I see it most days there from upper crust, air conditioned audiences visiting from Europe or Asia, and th