Voting age

[rubato]

The voting age, drinking age, age of marraige, are all inherently somewhat arbitrary. But so what? We only have to make approximately accurate assumptions about them. And if we are off we can just adjust.

yrs,
rubato

[BoSoxGal]

There are millions of dumbfucks who are 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, etc. - dumbfuckery is not a bar to voting. I’ve known lots of very smart and informed teenagers, my nieces and nephew were more enlightened about politics at 16 than their FOX-brainwashed parents.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, it's obviously just a clever lib-left scheme to get more "democrat" aligned voters to show up at the polls. The "very smart and informed" ones are those taking Women's Studies, Gender Diversity and other useful course in uni. Young people are idealistic, romantic and pleased to vote for everything to be free.

Here in SA, "Fees Must Fall" is dedicated to the proposition that all education, including college, should be "free". That is, the taxpayer must pay for it; a tax base that is rapidly shrinking, along with everything else except costs. Violent protest threatening young students who actually want to take exams and graduate is not to be opposed by security measures which are inherently "unconstitutional" and "relics of apartheid" etc. The youngsters (not so young) argue like Leninist parrots

The voting age should be raised to 21.

[Darren]

Well, it's obviously just a clever lib-left scheme to get more "democrat" aligned voters to show up at the polls. The "very smart and informed" ones are those taking Women's Studies, Gender Diversity and other useful course in uni. Young people are idealistic, romantic and pleased to vote for everything to be free.

Here in SA, "Fees Must Fall" is dedicated to the proposition that all education, including college, should be "free". That is, the taxpayer must pay for it; a tax base that is rapidly shrinking, along with everything else except costs. Violent protest threatening young students who actually want to take exams and graduate is not to be opposed by security measures which are inherently "unconstitutional" and "relics of apartheid" etc. The youngsters (not so young) argue like Leninist parrots

The voting age should be raised to 21.

I heard the University of Maryland told students, in effect, "No safe places here. If you want one go home." Mizzou has been closing dorms due to falling enrollment as parents and students chose other schools to spend their money after the fun and games a year or so ago. Obviously some want to graduate and be able to pay off their student loans.

[Econoline]

People with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren tend to have more reason to focus on the long-term good of the country and the planet.

And people who have lived through history are more likely to have learned history's lessons and to see the mistakes when the same ones come around the next time.

[rubato]

"...

Here in SA, "Fees Must Fall" is dedicated to the proposition that all education, including college, should be "free". That is, the taxpayer must pay for it; a tax base that is rapidly shrinking, along with everything else except costs. ...

The voting age should be raised to 21.

Denmark has free education through university and post-graduate training and it works very well. All of the first world has at least K-12 free. You have a revenue problem, fix that.


yrs,
rubato

[Sue U]

People with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren tend to have more reason to focus on the long-term good of the country and the planet.

And people who have lived through history are more likely to have learned history's lessons and to see the mistakes when the same ones come around the next time.

That sounds nice and like it should be the way the world works, but I'm pretty sure it isn't, actually.

[rubato]

People with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren tend to have more reason to focus on the long-term good of the country and the planet.

And people who have lived through history are more likely to have learned history's lessons and to see the mistakes when the same ones come around the next time.

That sounds nice and like it should be the way the world works, but I'm pretty sure it isn't, actually.

And even people without children are motivated to care about the long-term good. People with children who vote against school taxes care less than those who who vote for them.


yrs,
rubato

[Econoline]

Actually, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren are probably better predictors of a long-term concern for the future: even people who've treated own children like crap usually turn to mush around the grandkiddies...

[Jarlaxle]

......Maybe people over a certain age (65? 70?) should be prohibited from voting and being elected to office, and allowed to serve only in an advisory capacity (if at all).....

Bad idea but it would be interesting to see how people would vote on it.

If you want to do it your way, it would be better set a legal limit on everyone's life span. I know at least one person here that would agree to setting the limit to age 60.

No, you don't.

[BoSoxGal]