In a story I wrote a while ago, Incident at the Gully Wash Cafe, the protagonist, Biker Dan, finds himself faced with an interesting challenge. Poet, the Gully Wash Cafe's proprietor (and former Rock God gone underground) tells Dan that, after he's camped at the Gully Wash, and had breakfast, Dan can decide for himself what this is worth, and pay that.
At the time, I was allowing Poet to be a bit inscrutable -- mysterious and Buddha-like -- when he offered Dan this deal. It fit with how I read Poet's personality, and how Poet was reading Dan's.
Little did I know that this concept already existed -- or would soon exist.
Lo and Behold! I read today that there are restaurants and coffee bars springing up that let the patrons pay what they want for the meal or for the coffee. This article points out that the band Radiohead did this when they allowed fans to pay what they wanted when downloading the band's latest album.
A restaurant in Seattle (of course!), the Terra Bite Lounge is doing the same thing. There's a donation slot by the barista (coffee-making dude). People slip in what they want to.
Ditto for a restaurant in Salt Lake City, the One World Everybody Eats. Here, the proprietors ask that people pay a fair price for what they consumed, based upon their income. A hamburger for me might be $5, while the starving artist pays $1 for the same food.
Other similar restaurants are springing up in Europe, Australia, as well as other locations in the US.
A very Buddhist/ One World/ Relieve Suffering development. Let's see if it has legs.
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Comments: 15
I enjoyed this article X and also the photos.
But I would like to remind CC human beings are just that, human.
And that many wealthy people are not of the ilk you describe above.