Is the minimum wage too minimal for Smith??

“……unless the government takes some pains to prevent it.” (38) What Smith is saying here is that unless the government does something to prevent it, the poor people of a society will become totally comprised of men whose whole life is spent in one unchanging regime; thus the effects eventually being men who become “stupid and ignorant.” Smith’s argument is that once one’s life becomes stationary and uniform, one’s mind soon follows in the same pattern. This unchanging lifestyle takes away the courage of the mind to think anything that is irregular, uncertain, or radical. Smith takes this argument further and proceeds to make the statement that not only does a static life corrupt one’s mind, but it also renders the body incapable of moving and acting with any energy or vitality. In conclusion, Smith is arguing that staying frozen in one job robs a person of his/her intellectual, social, and even marital qualities. Therefore, it is imperative that the government does something to alleviate this grave problem. Would Smith think the solution to this problem be the implementation of a minimum wage law? Throughout the text he discusses the difference in opportunity for the rich versus the poor. The rich have more time to study before they get a job as well as the means to pay for the best schooling. The poor on the other hand, have neither the time nor the means. In addition to the fact that Smith believes the government should have a hand in alleviating some of these differences, I do believe that he would be in favor of a law that would give some insurance to the poorer people. The problem I think he would find with the minimum wage law would depend upon what the minimum wage actually was. A minimum wage that does not allow one to properly support his/herself is not valuable. In the previous Smith reading, he emphasizes the idea that a man’s wages must be at least sufficient enough to maintain him, but in most cases it needs to be at least double so that he might start a family. Finally, Smith would favor the idea of a minimum wage law, but insist that the wage be satisfactory enough to support oneself and one’s family.