The Fool said:
Whats the problem? Your social security number is a de-facto ID card... In australia we have a photo drivers licence which is a defacto ID card, I'm assuming you have the same in the US?. There are various times when you must produce these forms of Id in Australia...opening a bank account, claiming money off the government etc. You have to provide your number to your employer so it can be passed to the taxation office etc.....hasn't the leap to an ID card already been shrunk to a very short hop?
I do have some problems with it though my comments were admittedly whimsical. I do not feel strongly about it, as I don’t believe it will ever happen but it does raise some interesting questions so allow me to play devil’s advocate here for a moment.
The Social Security number analogy is most interesting as it has become a fairly universal from of identification despite the fact, and this is important, that was not it’s original design.
I am sure this came about due to convenience but that does not negate the fact that tracking one’s Social Security number can now be a powerful form of invasion of privacy. When and where and under what circumstances it is used can reveal a great deal of information about an individual and in the wrong hands the potential for misuse is considerable.
Nixon’s misuse of the IRS should be clear reminder that we must always be aware of how policy like this can be dangerous if not closely guarded.
The SSN, however, can only reveal a very broad picture of an individual, mostly work related although here at UT it is used for Student Identification (another example of it’s unintended use).
A Driver’s License is something one acquires voluntarily but it has become the main form of identification. Even those who do not drive will often seek an equivalent form of State ID if only to enable one to cash checks. The Federal Government has little access to this information without going through the state judicial system.
But what benefit does the citizen receive of a National ID? None. Would it really work as a defense against illegal aliens? The only way for that to be effective would be for the National ID to be used so extensively for identification in our society as to make living in the US impossible without one and therein lies the rub.
The National ID ultimately serves one and only one purpose and that is as a means for the National government to centralize its surveillance of its citizens.
If a National ID were required of all citizens it would certainly replace both the SSN and driver’s license as the preferred form of ID as it would be the one ID all should have, with no variations or restrictions from state to state and more importantly eliminating all States Judicial oversight.
We would be presenting it when we traveled commercially, rented a car, cashed a check, rented a video etc. etc. etc.
The potential threat is that we could end up with a society where you are assigned a number at birth that you will need to survive and from that point on the Federal Government could monitor your activities down to disturbing detail, possibly able to note your drinking habits, travel habits, exactly what porn you prefer from your local video store, etc.
If there is one thing that any student of modern history should learn is that it matters not what any policy is designed to do. Power left lying around will be used and it will not always be used in our best interest.
The question is not how the National ID is intended to be implemented today but what are the dangers of how in can be misused 50 years from now.
In my opinion, no matter how harmless it may appear today, it’s extended use would only make it’s value as a surveillance tool grow and become all the more attractive and I would sooner believe in the tooth fairy than believe that that kind of raw power would go unnoticed and unexploited forever.
