Summary "You're 16, You're Beautiful and You're a Voter"

By: Anya Kamenetz, a staff writer for fast Company, is the author of "Generation Debt."

Legal age limits should never stand alone. They should always be flexible and paired with educational and cognitive requirements to decide the legal maturity. Driving laws show the best model for combining early beginnings and mandatory education. Many states already have a successful gradual phase in the driving rights of 16-year-olds, starting with their learners permit.

Like the driving laws 16-year-olds who would like to start voting should be able to obtain an “early voting permit” from their high school upon passing a simple civics course, which is similar to the citizenship test.

Sixteen is a good starting point for phasing in adult rights and responsibilities, from voting to drinking to marriage. The law ought to allow the young people decide this openly. “Surveys show that teenagers who drink at home with their families go on to drink less than those who sneak beers with friends.” Could you imagine 16-year-olds being able to receive a drinking permit after passing a mandatory alcoholism course? But it would only allow it at family gatherings or school functions for two years or until you graduated or moved out.

Also, the phasing of credit cards at 16 could work with firm restrictions. They would include a parental co-signer until the applicants have made one year of on-time payments and passing a mandatory financial literacy test, which would include questions such as defining compound interest, correctly deciphering the fine print on a credit card agreement and arguing with a customer service representative about an unnecessary fee.

“The more we treat teenagers as adults, the more they rise to our expectations.” Trying adult rights to cognitive requirements may also smooth out the bigger problems with age related social problems. We need to be able to test all Americans to make sure they are still qualified to drive and to avoid financial scammers. “From the public health point of view, the silver tsunami poses more of a threat than marauding teenagers ever did.”