2) Be careful what you ask for. Who makes the current events test? While the concept seems good, the devil's in the implementation. You're likely to end up with questions that have liberal talking points as answers instead of well rounded current events?
See what I mean?
From the Democrats, I'd expect questions like:
1. What are Kim Kardassian's hip measurements?
2. Who much money do the stars on Big Bang make each episode?
3. What religion does Tom Cruise belong to?
4. Who was the last Bachelorette?
I’m elderly and I still pay taxes, both on SS and earned income. I’m not sure about the tax status of disability benefits. As to the current events tests, what I was really looking for is what the current batch of candidates stand for...what’s their stance on issues of the day. I don’t know who would make up the questions, but I guess it would be some bi-partisan group. Regardless, I’m hard-pressed to understand why my tax dollars are used to buy cell phones for people, unless it’s to buy votes. The recipients’ extent of knowledge often seems to be: “Who do I get the most free stuff from?” and politicians behave accordingly.
As to the income restriction, maybe we draw on Neal Bortz idea that everyone gets one vote, but for every $10K you pay in taxes, you get another vote, up to a max of, say, 5 votes. The Constitution originally restricted voting to property owners, mainly because of vested rights. I’m not as sure as you that they were wrong.