Tipping

I am in the service industry. I live my life off of the generosity of other people. The world is moved by money. Bartering sounds like fun and all, but we have moved into capitalism with gusto at this point. We see the world around us and everything has a pricetag on it. As a member of the industry I tip well. The few times I have gotten into the convorsation about tips and tipping with people I find out that I am a generous tipper, and that means that I am treated well in the bars I go to, it also means I am more likely to be remembered the next time I go in to a place. People that I don't know, people that I will never probably get to know are nice to me. Why? Because as a good tipper I make their shitty, too much work for not enough pay, job worth more to them. They smile and appreciate me just a little more. I am grateful for the chance to brighten someones day. Then there are those people that don't tip. The people that for some reason or another think that we make a living wage and a tip is something special. I want to be a bartender and make a living wage. That would be amazing. But in this lovely state I live in (Utah) The Man says that $2.13 is perfect for servers because they make tips. $2.13/hr isn't enough to pay one bill, let alone all of them. So when I get stiffed by the foreign prick, or the business man that thinks we need to "work a real job if you want to make a wage", or the rich kid that thinks that 10% of the pre-tax nonwine noncorkage bill is "enough" because if you want money then you should be given it, I wonder if they really know. I don't honestly think that 30% every time is necessary, but 15% is an accepted minimum, for service that was everything you wanted, nothing more. 20% if they were helpful/happy to be there/answered questions. Is that really so much to ask?