44% of the restaurants in Washington DC are on the verge of failure. Restaurants named inflation the top factor driving decreased diner spending, visits and tipping. Among survey participants, 91% expressed concern about diners’ willingness to pay higher prices and 77% cited mounting credit card swipe fees. Out of control credit card "swipe fees" total 187 billion. A typical local restaurant makes a profit of 3 to 5 cents on the dollar. Swipe fees alone can chew up more than half of that. Big banks on Wall Street have found a way to capture almost all of the "profits" of many industries via swipe fees.