[db48x]

Non-salary benefits used to be extremely uncommon in the USA. During WW2, price and wage controls were enacted that made it illegal to increase prices for many types of goods, or salaries for many types of employees. This made it almost impossible for employers to find enough employees, so they started finding creative ways to sweeten the deal besides just increasing salary. Thus, virtually everyone now gets health insurance from an insurance company chosen by their employer rather than one they choose themselves, we tip workers that do certain jobs rather than paying them a normal wage, time off is negotiated ahead of time, etc.