Connecticut Wants to Pad the Bottom Line for Your Favorite Bartender

The American bartender is more than a person slinging booze.

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They're a friendly-face, a therapist and in many cases the face of a small business. So, why shouldn't they be compensated better? According to Some lawmakers in CT are pushing for that very thing. According to WTNH:

An Act Concerning Gratuities as Part of the Minimum Fair Wage, proposes an increase in this base pay to match the state’s minimum wage, which is $15.69 per hour. Tipped workers would have the ability to earn tips in addition to their base pay.

Bartenders and servers currently have a minimum wage of just $6.38 per hour which is boosted if they get tips. Senator Julie Kushner is the one behind the bill and good for her for taking this stand.

The bartender is a godsend on a bad day and a pal on a great day. They are the difference between drinking alone and going to see a friend. Bartenders endure bad jokes, belligerent drunks and poor tippers. The bartender, a good one has regulars which is another way of saying they have a following.

Some of my rosiest moments were spent bellied up across from a great bartender with a good ear and a heavy hand. $16 an hour is not going to be enough to show our bartenders and servers enough appreciation but it is a step in the right direction.

Let's help them pay their rent and gas up the cars so they can get to the bar and open the doors. Without them we are living in chaos, true anarchy. Just think of all the bad things that could have happened in human history if the bartender was not there to talk someone off a ledge and offer them something to drink on a cold and dreary day.

Let 'em eat, let' em live!

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P.S. That is the best Anthony Bourdain impression I could conjure up and I think he would be proud.