Two for the Road

Two quick suggestions for the good of the Republic.
First: The voting age should be raised to at least 25. Based upon the discussions that I have had with kids in the 18-24 voting demographic and interviews that I have heard on the radio, I don't think that they are ready to vote. That's not a slam at them, they just don't have the life experiences yet to understand what is at stake and how things work. They haven't bought a house, started a family, really paid income taxes or held a job for very long. Many are still in school, not always the best training ground for life. At this age many are still struggling with their religious philosophy. I have heard the argument that we shouldn't send kids off to fight in a war if they can't vote. I don't buy it. If they can vote and go to war at 18, why can't they drink until 21? We have our kids do things all the time without allowing them to participate in the decision process. And now the military is all-volunteer, not draft-based. Each one of these policies should be based upon its own merits.
Second: We must, as a first step in tax reform (hopefully culminating in a national sales tax, not a V.A.T.) abolish the temporary emergency WWII policy of employer income tax withholding and have people actually write the checks and mail them in every year to pay their federal income taxes. The cry for reform would instantly drown out everything else. And we will instantly discover that the politicians don't really trust the people to pay their own taxes. Well, guess what, we don't trust the politicians to do much of anything!
So there, that's a start.