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I'm getting away from my point a little, so let me make it clear, I agree that working should have nothing to do with voting. I was just pointing out that if a child earns no money, they don't pay taxes. They don't pay for anything on their own, and, therefore, taxes aren't a loss to them.
My point is that I disagree that just anybody should have the right to vote. What happens when we turn your floodgate analogy around 180 degrees? Do we allow five year olds to vote? Mental capacity and experience have to come into account here. That's what becoming an adult, and taking on the responsibilities included, is all about. Just like everything else being discussed in this thread, the age limit should be set at when one is determined an adult. Our society has deemed that determination as the age of 18.
Because that is the age we choose to make people accountable for their own actions, that should also be the age we're allowed to make any decisions and be accountable for those as well. Sure, a 14 year old can be arrested and convicted of a crime, but, unless it's a particularly heinous crime, they'll also get little more than a smack on the wrist.
When you're a child in this country, your parents represent your opinion. That is how we have set things up. Until that changes as a whole, voting is something that should be left to adults.
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"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager
"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike
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