Finished reading P. G. Wodehouse's Right Ho, Jeeves, I brought so many books here and didn't get any time to read any of them. today I also managed to buy a couple of books from Barnes and Noble bookstore.

As I spend my time in US, I tend to compare it with India regularly and want some things to change in India to make it a better place. One of the things that should be looked at is minimum wages. I have been told by so many people in US that one can lead a normal life (though not lavish) irrespective of profession. Of course people tend to overspend and are under debt but atleast they are given a chance to choose their lifestyle. This page has a list of minimum per day salary. I find them too low even for small cities. Shouldn't the wages be dependent on cost of living in city?

I believe that all governments should try to align minimum wages in a manner that anybody with skill (in any field, be it cutting wood or construction work) should be able to earn a good living and lead a good life. I does sound a bit socialist but some people might argue that it will lead to highly capitalistic economy. Small business will not be able to afford skilled workers and small scale industry might take a hit and only big (really big) players will survive.

The best effect having good minimum wages would be that people will have somewhat more balanced approach to various career options. Rather than everybody running towards being IT professionals (most of them only because it pays so much more than any other profession) some people would actually go ahead and do whatever they like or atleast pursue their passion part time without loosing financial stability. Need I say, happy people make a healthy nation. Ignore Vikas's statement, "Happiness is the most unproductive state of mind."