The places with these conversations do not have that. Both California and Washington have the same minimum wage for tipped and untipped workers. So in Washington you are guaranteed $13.50 / hr and then tips go on top. In California you are guaranteed $12 / hr and then tips go on top.
In Seattle, where this law was passed, the minimum wage is over $16 / hr and then tips go on top.
Alabama does do that bit with the $2/hr minimum wage if tips make up the balance but there isn't a significant effort in places like that to backstop wages for drivers.
It's still socially expected in these places, so you might face some censure. But yes, for real. Interestingly, SF which has a $15 min wage has higher socially expected tip percentages than the rest of California.
Americans have such a fetish for tipping. I think it makes them feel like generous benefactors to be in control of someone’s earnings. You could raise the wage for servers to $100k per year and people would still want to tip 25% for a $50 sandwich.
But changing the system so that employers pay employees properly? That would be ludicrous...even though it works for just about everyone else.
In Seattle, where this law was passed, the minimum wage is over $16 / hr and then tips go on top.
Alabama does do that bit with the $2/hr minimum wage if tips make up the balance but there isn't a significant effort in places like that to backstop wages for drivers.
Essentially, there is no inconsistency.