tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post2687474438421493521..comments2023-11-25T01:16:22.368+00:00Comments on DAILY REFERENDUM: Should we lower the voting age to sixteen? 16?Daily Referendumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00899003349232334603noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-66667819574107074312008-07-31T23:47:00.000+01:002008-07-31T23:47:00.000+01:00PS: I do owe you an apology though NB. I did misr...PS: I do owe you an apology though NB. I did misread your post (alcohol and fatigue are lethal when combined with late night blogging) and jumped to the wrong conclusion, for which I apologise.William Gruffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02434757003701117714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-11735087948410959662008-07-31T23:26:00.000+01:002008-07-31T23:26:00.000+01:00Norfolk Blogger wrote: '... you do need to be care...Norfolk Blogger wrote: '... you do need to be carely not to make yourself look laugably illiterate.'<BR/><BR/>Yes indeed.William Gruffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02434757003701117714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-30929764545807851892008-07-31T15:06:00.000+01:002008-07-31T15:06:00.000+01:00Yes let`s bring it down to 16 or even lower. So th...Yes let`s bring it down to 16 or even lower. So that it`s all about greenery and more free EU trips,close down all nuclear and coal power stations,car driving at 16 with free insurance. Bring it down to 6 and all the toy and sweetshops will be free.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-34158316069246120522008-07-31T13:26:00.000+01:002008-07-31T13:26:00.000+01:00William Gruff,I am educated enough to know that I ...William Gruff,<BR/><BR/>I am educated enough to know that I was writing about John Stuart Mill who himself was writing more than 12 years ago. I was not writing in a personal capacity so am amazed that you think that I share the views of someone I was writing about.<BR/><BR/>My own personal opinion was stated at the end of the piece. Please go back and re-read what I wrote.<BR/><BR/>I do not agree with JS Mill, but was merely drawing a parallel.<BR/><BR/>When talking about the laughably naive you do need to be carely not to make yourself look laugably illiterate.Nich Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04237390959601973501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-25313939000076793922008-07-31T11:41:00.000+01:002008-07-31T11:41:00.000+01:00The majority of voters vote from a point of view o...The majority of voters vote from a point of view of self-interest. I wish it were not so, and that we were as a society simply tapping into an intellectual resource that would help make our country a better place.<BR/><BR/>Alas, it is not so.<BR/><BR/>Notwithstanding all of this, there is a need for consistency of approach and a stable and sensible approach to voting; and the present "18 years old and over" policy is in fact the most balanced policy.<BR/><BR/>There are very good reasons why the age of 18 is a sensible one (despite understandable arguments I have read for raising this to 21) and we need to accept this and live with the consequences of such a policy. I'd rather do that -- even if it skewed the outcomes of elections a little "unfavourably" (as some of us might view it) on occasion -- than go either alternative way (i.e. to 16 or to 21).<BR/><BR/>This is one of those questions that has actually been answered correctly; and that will pprobably not change for generations, if ever. Now, that doesn't happen every day...John M Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251285057595626917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-21156458820469000322008-07-31T10:34:00.000+01:002008-07-31T10:34:00.000+01:00The educated don't / won't act out of self-interes...The educated don't / won't act out of self-interest.<BR/><BR/>LOLCalumCarrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225196825182106348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-12447157510988433172008-07-31T00:35:00.000+01:002008-07-31T00:35:00.000+01:00Norfolk Blogger you are laughably naïve. The 'bri...Norfolk Blogger you are laughably naïve. The 'bright and educated' vote with just as much self-interest as 'the uneducated masses'.<BR/><BR/>Out of interest: what is your education, and how does it fit you to make less self-interested decisions than those you consider less educated?William Gruffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02434757003701117714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-62380851896513629792008-07-30T22:58:00.000+01:002008-07-30T22:58:00.000+01:00There is a very simple explanation why they want t...There is a very simple explanation why they want to lower the voting age to 16, because most of us at that age didn't have to worry about taxes, paying bill or being successful in work ,and would have been rabid green if that had even been on the radar, and therefore had serious socialist tendencies, I'd have certainly voted Labour at 16. <BR/><BR/>I rather expect the majority of 16-18 year olds today would also be more likely to vote Labour than Tory. If the powers that be didn't also think this it wouldn't even be up for discussion.Mulliganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12445624135697167219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8149296713213520917.post-25456155621568948192008-07-30T22:37:00.000+01:002008-07-30T22:37:00.000+01:00John Stuart Mill argued that the bright and educat...John Stuart Mill argued that the bright and educated could make informed decisions about who to vote for and could accept that some hardship was due in bad times and that a government had to make hard decisions to go with hard times. He beleived that the educated would know this and vote accordingly and not on impulse. He made the case that the uneducated masses, if given a vote, would vote out of self interest.<BR/><BR/>This seems to be the case you too are making in many ways.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I would follow the principle of no taxation without representation. If you don't allow 18 year olds to vote then they should not have income tax deducted. Only upon getting the vote should income tax be levied.Nich Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04237390959601973501noreply@blogger.com