I spend a lot of time on this blog railing against heavy-handed government enforcement and laws intended to benefit employees that actually drive jobs away. So I want to go on record as a supporter of the 1842 Mines Act. Among other things, this law prohibited boys and girls under age 10 from working in iron and coal mines in England. Call me a bleeding heart, but I think that was a good idea.
There, I said it and am prepared to accept the consequences.