taxes solve all problems, even underage drinking! (1 Viewer)

[Dave Poehlman]

Underage people will still find ways of getting booze

Agreed. When I was in college.. the last thing on our minds while we were buying a keg with fake id's was whether the beer was too expensive. Our only thought was "is one going to be enough?"

 

[Carl Miller]

I would hazard a guess that a considerable part of the problem there is not the cars, students or alcohol but instead probability. Chances are that there are considerably more students there now

In some cases, I'm sure you're right. My high school did add the 9th grade to the school whereas when I was there it was only 10-12. But the addition of 9th graders shouldn't be a factor here.

Economically, the town I grew up with has changed a lot. There's a lot more money there now. Not many of us had cars, because our parents didn't have the money to buy them. Those who did have a car, had clunkers or beat up muscle cars they were working on. Nobody had a new car. Not one, out of a graduating class of 900.

Today, the high school parking lots are filled with cars. Mostly non-budget cars, new, fast, and courtesy of mom and dad. There are exceptions of course.

Most of the kids who drank when I was in high school bicycled while intoxicated, myself included. A lot of them would have DWI if they had a car. I think we're just seeing more students with cars, and thus increased chances there will be more DWI's.

Ultimately it probably really comes down to parenting.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

Everyone, are we wondering into the realm of politics (e.g. taxes)?

thanks for bringing that up, and adding nothing to the conversation...

anyway, i agree with eric, i think the drinking age should be much lower. i didnt take a drink until i was of legal age. i didnt have any aversion to it, just didnt feel like it. i'm 25 now, and i drink maybe twice a month or so. i didnt splurge when i turned 21, i didnt even buy alcohol until i was 23. i suppose all of this doesnt really fit into why i think the drinking age should be lower. but if i knew what it was like to get a REAL bad hangover when i was 14, i probably never would have taken another drink. younger kids are more impressionable, and if their values towards alcohol are formed at a younger age, more kids would have responsible views concerning the booze. treat it as something that is 'forbidden' and kids will be intrigued. the magic age is 21, and if you have an older friend who is 21, he becomes more popular because he is the guy who can buy booze for all us young kids. maybe i'm wrong, but i dont think the current steps being taken are doing any good at all.

CJ

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I heard that part of the reason some states raised it to 21 was because the teens were just crossing the state line to buy it in a state that had 18 as the legal age.

Of course, then they got snmashed, drove back home, and hopefully didn't hit anyone.

Maybe they'll just raise the driving age to 21 too.

Glenn

 

[Garrett Lundy]

had clunkers or beat up muscle cars they were working on. Nobody had a new car. Not one, out of a graduating class of 900.

Wow! This is off topic but your school musta been huge! My whole highschool (during my senior year) had a student population of 814.

 

[Carl Miller]

Wow! This is off topic but your school musta been huge! My whole highschool (during my senior year) had a student population of 814

It was. At the time it served several towns which had their own elementary schools, but not their own junior and senior high schools which hadn't yet been built. It was easy to get overlooked there, which I think was a good thing

 

[Eric_L]

Any idea why the legal drinking ages are so high, especially in the states?

Yes, because the states are filled with hypocrites who feel the government should police everyone elses vices except their own. Various organizations are constantly lobbying the government to impose and legislate their own beliefs on everyone else. Some have been successful - such as the 21 yr old drinking age as well as other more sensitive issues. (highly controversial and political issues) Political Correctness has also run amok to the point nobody is willing to make a stand for common sense if it may be 'offensive or insensitive' to ANYONE. Free speech has been compromised by PC police.

 

[LewB]

Just an excuse by the politicians to suck up to MADD. It's a win-win. They get credit for being anti-drunk driver and the locality gets some extra tax money.
Yes, I am against driving under the influence of ANY substance that impairs your driving ability !
Doesn't anyone remember that as a kid, you immediately ran out to do anything that the old folks said you couldn't, even if you ordinarily couldn't care less about it ?
The price won't stop them, cigarettes and illegal drugs cost more than beer, doesn't seem to help there does it?
The problem is that there is no organized group of voters telling the politicians that they want cheap beer (a 'Married with Children' episode comes to mind).
I think raising the price of beer will only help to further endanger the health of your local quicky mart clerk.

 

[Joe Szott]

When I was in college.. the last thing on our minds while we were buying a keg with fake id's was whether the beer was too expensive. Our only thought was "is one going to be enough?"

So what you're saying Dave is that if we make it too expensive for underage drinkers, then only underage drinker can afford to drink?

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> I heard that part of the reason some states raised it to 21 was because the teens were just crossing the state line to buy it in a state that had 18 as the legal age.

Wasn't it pressure from the feds? That's how we got the seatbelt laws, among other things.

It's probably easier for the kids to get a fake ID or just have someone of legal age buy it for them.

 

[SteveA]

The only thing restricting the availability of alcohol to college-age folks does is drive them to more dangerous and evil drugs - like (I shudder to even say the word!) - marijuana!

 

[Jack Briggs]

Please don't go there. Seriously.

 

[JamesHl]

The dumb part about being 21 to drink is that we can all fight for our country 3 years before that. That's what I don't get.

Actually, if you are fighting for your country and under 21 you can drink. I personally don't feel that would be a fair trade, but there you are.

I personally did very very little drinking before I turned 21, as in I had some tequila once. I recently turned 23 and didn't even start drinking too much until around the beginning of this year.

I wasn't 'uneducated' about alcohol when I started drinking more regularly. Heck, I've only been *really* drunk once, and that will probably be the only time. Or at least it's an infrequent occurence. But I would say that I average at least one beer every two days, overall.

This isn't to say that kids shouldn't be allowed to drink at 18, but this theory of 'educating your kids about drinking before they binge drink themselves to death in college' seems kind of silly.

 

[LewB]

A new study

 

[Max Leung]

I dunno...that MSNBC report seems to confuse marketing as the cause with easy access to cheap beer as the cause. Uh...unless cheap beer is the same as marketing? Hmmm.

Anyways, binge drinking seems more related to peer pressure than anything else. An alcoholic would drink a case of beer by himself - alone. But the average person would not binge drink unless they're with a crowd - even at a private house party. A bar or pub is just a convenient gathering point for impromptu "partying".

You can make it undesireable for binge drinking at bars and pubs by raising prices or raising drinking ages or whatever, but then risk increasing private parties, which are much more difficult to police - a check stop is much easier to set up near known bar driving routes, for example.

I dunno...binge drinking seems more of a social/cultural phenomenon than anything else. Drinking yourself unconscious, pissing on electric fences, karaoke (especially after binge drinking! ), bungie jumping, prairie oyster eating contests, ad nauseum...it's all the same to me.

 

[Eric_L]

What they found was high rates of binge-drinking on campuses with large numbers of outlets selling beer in volume packages, such as 30-can cases, kegs and “party balls,” or bars and restaurants offering frequent price promotions.

According to the article, the advertizing causes binge drinking. I would suggest the binge drinking causes the ads. Think critically again; Where are you going to spend you advertising dollars if you are prudent? Answer - where it sells! DUH! Using the same rational one could say that diaper ads cause pregnancy since areas with the highest pregnancy rates have the most diaper ads!

It really is time for the public to see through this type of manipulation and call it what it is: An attempt by an elitist 'moral police' force determined to legislate their beliefs on everyone else. It is prohibition by baby steps.

 

[Dave E H]

Actually, if you are fighting for your country and under 21 you can drink. I personally don't feel that would be a fair trade, but there you are.

Huh? Since when? I've never heard of this.

 

[JamesHl]

If you're on active deployment, like combat, you can drink on base, or so I've been told.

 

[Eric_L]

If you're on active deployment, like combat, you can drink on base, or so I've been told.

Back before the Federally Mandated 21 yr drinking age states with higher ages granted exceptions to military personnel. It no longer is and is a common misconception. As far as drinking on base (or more specifically, BUYING drinks on base) I suspect (but not certain) in the US no way until you are 21, overseas it is subject to the rules of the nation where they are located. ie Saudi Arabia - no booze at all; Europe - no minimum age.