Posted on 07/02/2012 5:20:32 PM PDT by george76
The Supreme Court justices’ stance on President Obama’s Medicaid expansion provision could be good news for states that want to lower their drinking ages from the federally mandated 21.
...
The Supreme Court ruled that threatening to take away a state’s Medicaid funding unless the state does what the federal government wants is “unconstitutionally coercive” and declared it invalid. Because any given part of a Supreme Court decision can set a precedent for future laws and can even invalidate an established law if it is challenged using the Supreme Court’s new argument, the Medicaid decision could affect the National Minimum Drinking Age Act.
In 1984 Congress passed the law that made it illegal for anyone in the United States under the age of 21 to purchase or publicly possess alcohol. While drinking laws are and always have been a states issue, the federal government was able to enforce the minimum age by making it a part of the Federal Aid Highway Act
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
Veterans
I’ll agree to lowering the drinking age to 18 if they raise the voting age to 30.
And for the record the draft ended in 1973. Part of being an adult is knowing that long range goals are more important than short term fancies. Drinking does not make one an adult but can easily prove one a fool. Don’t cry about getting a job, I’ve worked since I was 14
Very good then. I’m with you as before. I included the disclaimer because some so-called conservatives and libertarians turn into Reid and Pelosi when one of their pet peeves (speed limits, drinking age) comes up.
If you think they aren’t drinking now unlicensed and unsupervised then tuck into bed early and wait for the Tooth Fairy.
"In response to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, which reduced by up to 10% the federal highway funding of any state which did not have a minimum purchasing age of 21, the New York Legislature raised the drinking age from 19 to 21, effective December 1, 1985. (The drinking age had been 18 for many years before the first raise in 1982, to 19.) Persons under 21 are prohibited from purchasing or possessing alcohol, from consuming alcohol in public (though they may do so in the privacy of their own homes with consent of a legal guardian), or from having a blood alcohol level of more than 0.02% while driving.
The federal government thru its club of withholding money has forced the states to accept its mandate.
Why not just ban alcohol altogether if you believe that it is that dangerous. Or raise the age to 25 or 30. You can embrace this intrusion of the federal government and government in general, into our personal lives, but we are losing our liberty.
I remember the cessation of the the draft. I served 8 years in the US Navy, including a year in Vietnam.
I have worked since the age of 11 when I got my paper route. I don't understand your point. Are you against alcohol entirely or just that it should be limited to those 21 or older?
In Canada, the drinking age is 18 or 19 depending on the province.
UK- The Legal drinking age is 5. The legal purchase age is 16/18. The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. Children aged 16 and 17, with the licensee's permission, may consume wine, beer, cider or perry with a meal in a restaurant providing they're with an adult and the adult orders it. Teenagers, aged 14 and over, can consume alcohol with a main course as long as the alcohol is bought by a parent/guardian. Children under 14 are not allowed in pubs without an adult. Teens 14-17 can be in pubs but with adult supervision. The purchase of liquor chocolates is 16. The legal age for drinking in one's home is 5 provided parental consent is given.
France- The legal drinking and purchase age is 16 for beer and wine and 18 for spirits. Anyone under the age of 16 can drink alcohol as long as the child is with the parent/guardian.
Italy- It is legal for 14-18 year olds to drink if the alcohol is provided by a parent or legal guardian. The age for purchasing alcohol is 18.
Germany has three drinking ages.
At 14 - minors are allowed to consume and possess undistilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, as long as they are in the company of their parents.
At 16 - undistilled drinks are allowed without a parent.
At 18 - having become adults, people are allowed access to distilled liquor.
In America, we are infantilizing our children. They are not treated like grown-ups or expected to act responsibly. Obamacare now allows "children" up to the age of 26 to be on their parents health insurance even if the "children" are married and not even living at home.
Were you drafted or did you enlist?
You and I both know that service men routinely are served liquor at facilities on base.
The arguments one presents about other countries does not phase me in the least ( unless of course you want to become that other country).
You sure get really angry when someone suggests that there are reasons that the drinking age should stay 21. Interesting.
The idea that drinking makes you an ‘adult’ or is somehow good for minds that are still forming neural connections does not compute as logical.
I never once said it should be banned since I know prohibition doesn’t work.
If you want the US to be so much more like Europe in drinking laws then logically you should be very happy that we are becoming more like Europe in our health care laws.
Don’t bother to respond I don’t want you to blow another gasket
NROTC Regular program. I enlisted.
You and I both know that service men routinely are served liquor at facilities on base.
How is that relevant?
The arguments one presents about other countries does not phase me in the least ( unless of course you want to become that other country). You sure get really angry when someone suggests that there are reasons that the drinking age should stay 21. Interesting.
It is a matter of personal liberty that has been taken away due to federal mandates and blackmail. The rest of the world allows access to those 18 and over. Does that make us exceptional? Why are American 18 year olds less trustworth than those in Australia, the UK, Belgium, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, etc.?
The idea that drinking makes you an ‘adult’ or is somehow good for minds that are still forming neural connections does not compute as logical.
And who should make that decision for you? The government or yourself? You sound like Bloomberg and Michelle Obama who want to decide what is good for us whether it is salt or a Big Gulp. Now you are worried about neural connections. LOL.
If you want the US to be so much more like Europe in drinking laws then logically you should be very happy that we are becoming more like Europe in our health care laws. Don’t bother to respond I don’t want you to blow another gasket
No I have lived a total of 13 years in five European countries. I don't support Obamacare nor do I support federal mandates and blackmail that resulted in 21 being the national drinking age. How can anyone who calls themselves a conservative support such nonsense?
At age 18 you can be drafted, vote, and be tried as an adult in court. The idea that you must be 21 to buy a drink is nonsense. It should be changed.
We have an all volunteer armed service and have since 1973. Your ‘drafted’ argument is pointless.
You have devolved this discussion into a rant about libertarian issues for which I have no taste.
You don’t like the 21 year old age for drinking . So what? Scream and yell and kick all you want. Have we been loosing freedom left and right since our founding? Yes indeed. Because you and I disagree on the drinking age let’s not make silly arguments use silly arguments such as you did at the end of your rant.
Your arguments really lack logic. I am done. rant all you want.
Everyone must still register for the draft. The point is that no matter whether you are drafted or not, you can put your life on the line for your country and vote yet you are treated as less than an adult when it comes to purchasing alcohol. There are also plenty of 18-21 year olds who are married, hold jobs, and have children. They are adults in every meaning of the word.
The only reason we have 18 as the drinking age is because the federal government passed a law saying that money would be withheld from the states if they did not comply. In NY, 18 was the legal drinking age from 1933 until 1985.
You don’t like the 21 year old age for drinking . So what? Scream and yell and kick all you want. Have we been loosing [sic] freedom left and right since our founding? Yes indeed. Because you and I disagree on the drinking age let’s not make silly arguments use silly arguments such as you did at the end of your rant.
These aren't silly arguments. The drinking age is just an example of how the federal government has taken power away from the states using blackmail and coercion. The states are becoming just administrative units of the federal government, which is far different than what our Founders intended or what is in the Constituion. The concept of Federalism is being undermined.
Your arguments really lack logic. I am done. rant all you want.
My arguments are supremely logical. I provided you with data and a rationale. You responded with an emotional concern about neural damage up to the age of 25. Unfortunately, we have too many faux conservatives who embrace liberal "logic." This is why the federal government can dictate what light bulbs can be sold, what toliets installed, and what health care plans are acceptable. As long as the state deems that something is good for us, it is OK. That shouldn't be the criterion.
When you kist a drinking age for Pakistan all I can do is laugh. The 97% Muslim country outlawe liuquor some time ago unless you get a permit from the government which is allowed if you are a foreigner or a Christian.
Blather on. Nothing faux about my conservatism you and I just disagree about a specific drinking age. That is all.
You are so predictable. Why do you latch on to this peripheral issue? I provided you the list of countries where 21 is the legal drinking age. FYI: I have been to Pakistan about half dozen times and had a drink in the hotel. They don't check to see whether you are Christian or Muslim.
Blather on. Nothing faux about my conservatism you and I just disagree about a specific drinking age. That is all.
You disagree because you personally think that your views should predominate. For me, the legal drinking age is just another example of the federal government forcing the states to cave in to a central diktat. I used the example of NY, which had 18 as the legal age for over 50 years. Personally, I saw no great problem with it nor in the many countries I have lived in over the 25 years of my adult life of living abroad. And you seem to gloss over the many examples of how we treat 18 year olds as adults whether it is in the military, the courts, or the ballot box. There is a profound logical inconsistency that you seem to be missing.
The Feds do this in lots of areas - a big one that comes to mind is how federal public school funding K through graduate schools have to jump through Fed hoops to get meals, loans, infrastructure, grants, etc. funding.
See also CDBG - Community Development Block Grants, Enterprise zones, etc.
More examples?
Wrong. I did not even comment on what I think of the government (federal) withholding funds or else. My oinly comments have been about the drinking age being 21. You are so angry you spitting cotton.
I have already said you disagree with the age I prefer. So what? The idea that this SCOTUS decision will be able to be used in the context of drinking age limit is wilkdly out there and will NEVER happen. So go your merry way.
Oh and have a bunch of drinks tomorrow....sounds like you could use them
Too late for the Bush daughters.
Blah. Beer is disgusting. Give my my wine and spirits.
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