background – i (18f) moved from co to fl (usa) with my boyfriend (20m) this year. we live with his uncle, who provided us with great jobs… but those great jobs kinda fizzled out and now we are looking for other work, and his uncle is talking to us about how we should be working already, so many places r hiring. he says that it doesnt matter if they pay 6.98$ an hour, cus youll make more in tips!!! but thats not really how id like to work. i know this country runs on tips, but i dont really agree with that system, and i have enough money saved to support myself while looking for a well-paying job that doesnt rely on tips. he says we are just wasting money and lazying around. we also dont have bills right now bc our cars are paid off & bfs uncle doesnt charge rent. i understand that i could be saving more if i got the first job i saw, but i have personal standards and ive worked in shitty food service jobs for 4 years and im over it. anyways, he keeps bringing it up and trying to convince me to go apply to this local steakhouse. “do you know how much their food is?? the tips would be insane you could be making so much money theyre giving you the opportunity to get money from people” he says. he used to work as a dice dealer and he tells me stories about how they hired a guy for 45,000$ to convince their workers not to unionize. he said “well the company always treated me well, we didnt need those other benefits anyways when we were making that much in tips.” he just goes on and on about how tips make the world go round and he word for word said ” they should be paying less because theyre giving you the opportunity to make your own money by tips, and you make more than enough” about serving positions. i tried explaining that i think the business should pay the worker for their shift, the customer should pay for their food. the customer shouldnt have to pay my wage. i simply dont agree with it, therefore i want to look elsewhere for work. (to clarify, when i go out i ofc always tip bc i know thats just how it works here, its crappy to not tip. but i reserve the right to choose who i work for lol) he continues to try and convince me/my bf to see it his way. i feel like im talking to a wall cus he only sees the money aspect. overall, any help on what to say in this situation would be appreciated! apologies for the long rant and bad storytelling