Good morning folks! It’s that time again, time for possibly the most bizarre, random and informal ‘debate’ you’ll find anywhere on the internet on a Monday morning; ‘Painter’s Journey Post’ I can confirm that I am back on the train for this edition, however, those wishing for a swift and quick journey to London I strongly recommend flying with BMI, their service and speed of journey was outstanding. Well worth considering...
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Anyway, I’m going to try and get straight to the point today, as I am rather tired and still half asleep at this time (aren’t we all on a Monday morning I hear you ask!)
Today’s subject is... Eligibility To Vote
Upon recently taking on a full time job, one of the great benefits I now have is to pay a rather large proportion of my hard earned salary straight to the Government in the form of tax. I was aware that UK taxes were exceedingly high, but by no means did I realise they would be as high as they are. Now, my grumble today isn’t the fact that they are so high, yes they could be a bit lower, but unfortunately that’s the way it is. I’m not whining on about having to pay them because I am like everyone else in full time employment, it’s the way the economy works. The point I would like to make, is, the fact that I have to pay them to the government elected by the British public. The problem being however, is, did I get to have my say in which party was elected in the recent elections? No.
I’m sure I’m not informing anyone when I say that the current age where people are legally eligible to vote is 18, with no other criterion taken into consideration. If you’re not old enough, you can’t vote, simple. The fact of the matter is though, there is a respectable proportion of the British public working full time under 18 and therefore paying taxes to the Government. However, there is an even larger proportion of 18 year olds and over still in full time education, receiving Government grants, paying no taxes at all and being able to cast their vote. How is this fair?
I’m not saying that the people falling into this category shouldn’t be allowed to vote, infact, I am glad people are urged to vote and participate at a young age, but surely those actually paying money to the Government should be entitled to vote too?
Personally, if I was given the power to create a ruling on ‘When should somebody be eligible to vote?’ I would follow similar guidelines to this:
- All people in employment and paying tax to the Government should be entitled to vote. They’re contributing to the Government, they should have a say in which political party it goes towards.
- Should a subject have the required knowledge and understanding of politics when aged 16-18, they should be given the opportunity to vote. Subjects who do not have a good enough grasp of how the UK politics work (I blame the lack of education available in schools and colleges for this) should be encouraged to learn and establish a firm perceptive. The decision as to whether someone has the required understanding should be determined using an online assessment done during full time education hours.
I’ve more or less put across my main arguments there, and could probably ramble on all day, but the idea of these posts is to simply outline the burning issue and allow you to make your own opinions. Writing before the politically minded audience of The Painter’s Chronicle, I am sure many arguments and debate will arise, and I am sure before long the positives and negatives of the ability to vote will arise.
There are many arguments with regards to the voting age, but, the perhaps the most important matter is that the UK nation get the opportunity to have their say and that the (majority) or political parties are going in with decent ideas and policies unlike some of the corrupt Governments in the world around us.Until next time, keep thinking, keep asking questions.
