Do you think we are paying waitresses wages by leaving a large tip

Every job deserves a living wage in my opinion. EVERY job. ESPECIALLY those in service... I'm sorry, but dealing with endless customers all day long, many of whom are rude, is far harder than any desk job (not that all desk jobs are easy, I just believe service is much harder). They should most definitely be paid a fair wage and if customers want to tip them they deserve that too! They shouldn't be paid slave wages because people like to thank them in this way for good service. It's insane!

 

I think that everybody on here knows how I feel about tipping at this point lol. But from my understanding, the tips are given straight to the waiters and waitresses right? So what is to stop that employee from just pocketing that tip instead of passing it onto the business, unless that is how tips are supposed to work, in that they get to keep the tip that they have earned for themselves?