A minor observation for tarheel:

I VOTE and I PAY TAXES....
so far,the 16 year olds in this country do neither!!!!

The first year in which I paid US Federal Income Taxes I was barely 13. And I'd had to file my return the previous year, and paid Social Security taxes both years.

Although I don't have the records for him, I believe my son filed his first Income Tax return at 13 or 14, but was probably 15 or so before he made enough to actually pay income tax. He very definitely started paying into Social Security before he turned 15.

Neither of us particularly felt the need to vote at such ages though, and I agree with what I sense as the prevailing opinion here that 16 is seldom a sufficiently mature age for doing so.

Im not sure that at 18 people are generally prepared to consider issues and vote rationally, but by then most of the ones that aren't probably never will be.

John