With the upcoming election, there has been some controversy over if the voting age should be lowered.  In Washington, D.C., 16-year olds could vote for president under a new proposal.

There is some logic to this.  Some teenagers, around the age of 16, can get a job in this economy. For some teenagers, it’s a must, whether it’s saving up for college or their parents are unable to fund all their needs.  If these same teenagers are helping and contributing to their economy, who’s to say they can’t have an influence on who runs it?  People under the age of eighteen pay sales tax, and many juniors and seniors in high school have jobs, meaning they also pay income tax.  So why shouldn’t people who pay money to their government get a say on who runs it?

People coming out of high school are on average about 18 when they graduate. By then they should have a plan on their career paths or what they want to do with their lives.

Jacqueline at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies said that teens should not be allowed to vote, that they are not informed enough about politics. She also went on to say that “things like healthcare and unemployment are like a foreign language to us.”

Personally, I think adults can often underestimate teenagers, thinking they are too young to understand and choose not to inform them of what is going on in the world as means of protecting them from the real world. Some children are less “informed” than others, but honestly, so are the adults.