If I am correct on this, the legal drinking age can be set by each State. However, if a State sets its drinking age below 21 yrs old, they will lose a percentage of their transportation funding from the federal government.

With that said and politics aside, I think the drinking age should be 18yrs old. If you can vote; you can drink.

The subject is not related to personal finance and I think 21 is a perfectly reasonable age, but what does everyone else think? Should the drinking age be lowered? Should it even exist???

Got to agree that if you can vote/fight for your country/be executed, you ought to be able to drink.

I have to agree with Paul's comment about being old enough to go to war. Although, Daniel brings up a good point about not having the driving and drinking age be the same, that definitely sounds like it would spell trouble.

I didn't know about the state transportation budget being affected if the age is below 21. That seems like it would change if more people knew about it...

Having come into conflict with this question first-hand I would have to say it should be 19. Allowing seniors in high school to drink would filter down to lower grades and create a problem. However, once in college the law is not really a restriction to obtaining alcohol and thus largely pointless. The U.S., by the way, has the highest drinking age in the world. Are American teenagers that irresponsible?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

18 yrs old, if you can die for Uncle Sam you should be able to drink with him!

And Minthe you're exactly right about the tie-in with highway funding. One of those little-known facts that might have to change if more people knew about it.

While I tend to think it should be lower, one thing that does concern me would be the drinking age and driving age being exactly the same. Those are two things that people have to wait so long to be allowed to do legally, and finally being allowed to do both at the same would invite trouble.

That said, I think the age should be lower (no higher than eighteen) and about teaching responsibility.

Raise it. Those crazy kids! Why, when I was their age ...