[clue-talk] national ID card

[Brian Gibson]

National ID is a one-stop shop.  I've got mixed feelings about the whole idea.  There are benefits and drawbacks on both sides of the argument.  The fact is information about you is already out there in the hands of various organizations, both public and private.  The government simply needs to pool all these disparate sources together and they can easily get a profile about you.  Businesses already make money by doing this (mostly about your purchasing habits and potential).  I suppose it's just the cost to pool these sources together is just one hurdle preventing the government from nonchalantly abusing such power.  

Should a national ID or some flavor of it be implemented I'd certainly want to be able to have access to said information so that I may verify .  One of the biggest problems I have is that often I don't know what you know nor do I know who you are, "you" being some organization interested in me.  At least this way I know who's looking at my information, when and what they looked at (assuming they have access), and perhaps even why.

If only the government wasn't so slanted on keeping the power to themselves when implementing a national ID.  (In a way it sort of parallels what the pharmaceutical companies are doing when it comes to patenting a genome (human or otherwise) which is arguably already in the public domain.)  The government shouldn't be able to take ownership of my information.  I certainly don't mind giving access to my information on a need-to-know basis.  It's not like I don't already do so.  Plus there are already many de facto IDs in place---driver's license/state ID, social security number, passport, credit cards, etc. that are used separately and in conjunction to verify who I say I am. 

It's simply inevitable that should you choose to live on the grid that there will be a time when a national ID will become commonplace or technology will make the need for one moot.  Hopefully the government of that not too distant future won't be totalitarian.  


----- Original Message ----
From: Angelo Bertolli <angelo at freeshell.org>
To: CLUE talk <clue-talk at cluedenver.org>
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 8:53:34 AM
Subject: Re: [clue-talk] national ID card

I think a national ID is fine as long as it's not required.  I'm not 
opposed to an opt-in national ID.  But I really don't see much 
difference between having a national ID and your drivers license anyway, 
except maybe they're less organized at the state level.  And what about 
people who don't drive?
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