"I would say economists have never worked for $2.13 an hour, so I don't listen to a lot of what they're saying," Ted Pappageorge with Nevada's culinary union told NPR in response to the concerns experts have raised.
Pappageorge, said the union, which represents some 60,000 hospitality workers in the state, welcomes the idea of eliminating taxes on tips.
"It needs to happen," he said, adding in the same breath, that he also wants to see an increase in the minimum wage for tipped workers.
"The reality is both are helpful. And we are challenging President Trump and the Republicans and the Democrats to do both," saying he appreciates the idea of eliminating taxes on tips but he's also going to keep fighting for the other issue too.