[privacy] U.S. Senators Propose Repeal of National ID

[Dennis Henderson]

>
> Dave,
>
> Excellent rant, I fully agree, and I could not have said it any better.


Well after you're all done awarding each other honorary degrees, it would be
good to hear about a solution, not just lament the issues..

On one hand, every official entity tries to establish some form of identity
where either local, county or state authorities can make a positive ID on
someone. On the other hand the one entity that has the capability and means
to establish and unique federal credential are considered the devil
reincarnate but people are just in denial...They already have an established
system of identity, but people seem to think the SSN is just another number

As long as people refuse to let a singular entity provide a uniform, and
recognizable form of ID, the US will continue to suffer this issue.




I find it interesting the number of places that want to see ID, but have
no idea what they are looking for or looking at.  Some examples:

- When I first moved to Colorado, I opened a bank account.
   They needed to see my Illinois driver's license.
   The problems here:
   (1) The banker had never seen an Illinois driver's license before, and
       would never be able to tell if it was real or fake.  (I had to
       point out the driver's license number on it since he didn't know
       where to look.)
   (2) They did not ask me to remove it from my wallet.
       You can buy fake IDs for any state.  The front looks correct, but
       the back says it is a fake ID for entertainment purposes only.
       Even if the banker knew what a real Illinois driver's license
       looked like, they never checked the back so it might have been
       fake.
   The basic mentality seems to be:
       Picture looks like me + name is right = must be real.  (QED)




And whoevers bank just let you establish an account without doing a little
behind the scenes check on your identity, deserves to go bankrupt.

Just because you present an Illinois Drivers License in CO and the PBR
smiles at you doesnt mean she/he's an idiot. There are plenty of processes
and procedures that will get followed that you may not be aware of. Banks
are fully connected to various identity/credit reporting agencies.

- My credit card says "not valid without photo ID".
   I am rarely asked to provide ID.
   One time, the gal at Home Depot asked me.  I pulled out a 1"x1" baby
   picture of my nephew.  She smiled and continued the transaction.
   It was an identifying photo, just not of me.



So whats your solution?


With all due respect, Dr., Please provide a treatment, not a diagnosis...

Its tiring to hear the seasoned citizens of academia simply hash the issue
and not at least try to shape that hash into an even vaguely recognizable
potato(e)....

:)
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