Q&A of the Day – About the voting age in the United States
It’s the Q&A of the day. Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Facebook: Brian Mudd https://www.facebook.com/brian.mudd1
Today’s question was submitted by Chris...
The auto insurance companies are on to something...the actuarial tables say you become an adult at age 25.
Bottom Line: Isn’t it ironic that those who use science and facts in making age determinations, the insurance companies, don’t acknowledge you as matured until 25. This is right in line with the latest determinations. In fact, in the recent study Understanding the Teen Brain by the University of Rochester Medical Center, here’s the summation statement:
It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet.
The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so.
Ok, so yeah why not lower the voting age to 16 right? It’s not scientifically possible for them to be rational and that’s evidently exactly what this country needs. Here’s the thing. In the context of our country’s history, the voting age being 18 is fairly recent. The 26th Amendment to the US Constitution lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 only happened in 1971. And here’s something else to consider... You might call it part of the dumbing down of America...
- In 1850 (first year we kept records) the average life expectancy was 39 in the United States and the voting age was 21
- In 1971 the average life expectancy was 71 in the United States and the voting age was lowed to 18
- In 2019 the average life expectancy is 79 and there’s push to lower the voting age to 16
Makes perfect sense, right? It’s completely illogical and it’s an affront to science but otherwise – what isn’t to like!?