>Firstly, many people, even smart ones are bad at mental math. The idea extra charges are added at the end is literally a dark-patterns used to trick people into spending more money because they are bad at doing this.

You are making a fair point that most people can't math.

On the other hand, people who can't do very simple math have bigger problems to worry about than tips.

>Next, why do _some_ waitstaff make a lot of tips, and not others. You don't acknowledge how in almost every biased way possible tipping promotes some people, and punishes others.

At least in theory, the point of tipping is to reward good staff and punish bad staff. The whole point of tipping is to create an income gap, with the hope that staff will be incentivized to be "good" staff so they make more money and be on the better side of the gap.

It's not unlike good employees getting paid better than bad employees, the only difference is that the incentives come from your customers rather than your employer.

>Lastly, I personally find tipping and therefore your slightly aggressive defense of it, kinda gross? It's a power-trip at the end of the day to control someone else's actions with your money. Sure, that's life, but with tipping it's so blunt.

Even without tips we are all going to engage in "controlling someone else's actions with money". That fancy restaurant that just billed you 3 or maybe even 4-digits? That money is so the staff are incentivized to treat you like nobility, among other luxuries you just enjoyed.