Leave the Drinking Age to the States
“The federal government should stop trying to do everything, which it doesn’t do well, and start doing, and doing better, the few tasks that only it can handle,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president.
“For instance, Uncle Sam has become a nanny-state, telling us what we can eat and how old we must be to drink. More than 100 university presidents have called on Washington to reduce the drinking age of 21. Maybe they are right and maybe they are wrong, but this isn’t a job for Congress. It should be the decision of the 50 states, which have very different histories, traditions, and views of such issues.”
“The same goes for the speed limit,” says Barr. “Republican Senator John Warner wants to revive the national 55 mph limit, but why should politicians in Washington decide how fast people can drive in Butte, Montana; Chicago, Illinois; Decatur, Georgia; and Lubbock, Texas? The respective limits should depend on local conditions, and are questions for the states and local communities.”
“Today the national government seeks to run every school system in America,” Barr continues. “Washington has nationalized much of the welfare system. Congress funds everything from left turn lanes to bridges to nowhere across the country. It makes no sense to tax all Americans, ship their money to Washington, deduct a big handling charge, and then have legislators and administrators hand it back—with lots of strings attached.”
“Unfortunately, both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama believe in an all-powerful federal government. While they and other members of Congress act like city councilmen and state legislators, they are failing to deal with national problems,” observes Barr.
“The deficit next year will run a half trillion dollars. The occupation of Iraq continues to drag on. Social Security and Medicare are heading towards financial disaster. The federal government is filled with waste. Our liberties and privacy are under attack. But congressmen and presidents prefer to spend their time on local matters that should be decided by local people.”
“Even if politicians in Washington were competent to manage local affairs, that wouldn’t be their job,” notes Barr. “They don’t know what is best for local communities. At the same time they’ve made a mess of the issues that are their constitutional responsibility. Only by looking beyond the Republicans and Democrats to Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party will we get real change in America.”
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You people are stupid, drinking should be abolished, why well lets see, you go to a bar get plastered get your drunk ass in a car and get stopped at a DUI check point, because Americans expect drunks to act responsible.
So what’s in it for the 100 university presidents to get students to start drinking again legally at 18.
What if the government stopped with the student aid would you think the Fed’s were crazy, because a lot of you would be the welfare lines.
As we all can see education will not turn stupidity into smartness. So getting young people to drink to get more government aid will ensure money for the university, why because the only good thing in life is more money and more money. Why not bring the drinking age to 15, that way they would be seasoned drunks at age 18, ready for AA.
No, you are stupid. Drinking was abolished once, worked out wonderfully back then. Take a lesson from history.
“Why not bring the drinking age to 15, that way they would be seasoned drunks at age 18,”
Why not take a lesson from other countries why we are at it. The countries that are the most lenient when it comes to alcohol have the lowest rates of alcoholism in the world.
Johnny,
You’re stupid.
Not everyone goes to bars. Not everyone drinks to get “plastered.” Believe it or not, many people are responsible when they drink and have a designated driver or call a taxi. It’s their responsibility, not mine; punish them, not me too. If we were to abolish alcohol, do you think that would actually stop people from drinking or finding/making alcohol? It hasn’t worked for marijuana. Marijuana is the #1 cash crop in America (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017). Banishing alcohol will just cause more black markets.
Why don’t you try to take away some more of my freedoms while you’re at it. Outlaw alcohol and guns. Besides, all firearms do is kill people, right? They serve no other purpose, like persuading a criminal from robbing you or protecting oneself, right?
And for the drinking age being reduced to 18, he never made a comment of fixing it to 18, he just said to reduce it.