I am unsure if America would benefit if states could lower the drinking age to 18 without federal penalty, but I am sure the current restrictions are a failure.
Recently, a group of college presidents from among 100 of America’s finest schools called for a debate on lowering the drinking age to 18.
Note that these are serious, accomplished men and women who recognize that current efforts are a revolving-door failure.
Many towns benefit practically from fines from the drinking that they condemns so vociferously. It’s a cottage industry.
Often no one succeeds meaningfully in reducing year over year underage drinking.
We say it’s wrong, but if it did not continue, we’d be at a financial loss.
An entire apparatus has sprung up, a handsome set of municipal machinery, to enforce these laws.
It produces no permanent gains in reducing underage drinking, but lots of show about combatting the problem.
Here’s a link to the college presidents’ call for a debate on the matter:
http://www.nysun.com/national/college-presidents-want-lower-drinking-age/84123/