but the state id's are not mandatory. completely voluntary as a form of identification. and people that dont drive, if they chose to not get just a plain id, then that is their business.
If you have nothing to hide and aren't scared, then you should have no problem sending me your bank account number along with your SS#. Just so if something happens to you I'll have it. Just send it in a PM because I don't feel right about giving YOU my email address.
Most of the jobs, in Louisiana, require some form of picture ID. That's why, at least in this state, you can get a "class I" ID card, instead of paying for a regular driver's license. To borrow from your comment about finding a way to ensure employers are doing what they are supposed to do, this could do that. As far as them not being mandatory, the state can make it so. I think it is in their best interest to because, except for a few ground rules that everyone has to follow, they will have control over their licenses and ID cards. The other alternative is that the feds have all of the say and the states have none. To break the topic, all in favor of the national ID, what identifiers should be on it
True, but its doable. We need some serious protections already. Look, 20 years ago I would have screamed "Big Brother" and objected to a national ID, but things have changed. First of all, we are already trackable by our cell-phones, debit cards, and our credit cards. The law can track you through all of your records anyway. It's a major reason that its important to be able to identify yourself, especially if you have a common name. People get pulled out of security lines in airports all the time for having the same name as a known terrorist. A National ID would provide secure ID and expedite citizens travels and make it very difficult for non-citizens to do anything illegal. Employers would have no access to any data except whether they are citizens, have a work permit, or are undocumented. Hotels would only be able to confirm your identity. Airport security would only be able to check your background for terrorism issues. Ordinary cops could only use it to confirm identity and check for outstanding warrants. Obviously law enforcement investigators and national security officials could use this for legal law enforcement reasons that benefit us all. Of course there would have to be restrictions on its proper use, and severe penalties for police or politicians who abuse the system for personal or political gain. It's already coming. Aliens with work permits are already getting a secure National Work permit card. The Passport Office issues a secure Passport Card now that you can use to go to Canada or Mexico without a passport and return securely and without hassle. Just a matter of time before all passports become secure Passport Cards and then its a short evolution to a secure national ID. Well, if it was everyones responsibility to provide proof of identification, then it couldn't be profiling could it? If everyone that applied for a job had to swipe their ID through a reader for an instant check on citizenship, it would prevent illegals from working without a permit. It could make ID theft very difficult for a crook to pull off and this is becoming a major issue for everybody. They will have to go through the process to get a work permit, meaning that we get to check them for communicable diseases, terrorists background, or criminal records and then we can see that they pay their taxes and get licensed and insured if they drive. And when their job is over or they retire they can be tracked and required to go home a live on the retirement/medical system of their own country, not on ours. Drivers licenses and social security cards are very poor ID. Also people have learned to guard their SSN for fear of identity theft. The Social Security card has ZERO security features and the drivers licenses have minimal security. These cards were never intended to be identification cards, but have been used as such in the absence of a proper secure ID. Both are easily faked and difficult to check, especially in another state. The difference with a smart ID card with a computer chip is that it can encode much more data which can be compared with the valid data online, Then it becomes imposible to fake the ID because they cannot fake the master online security database. All an employer (or law enforcement officals) would have to do is have a small card reader and thumbprint scanner device to plug into their computer. Then the Internet records are called up to verify identity and foreign national status, if any. Quick, easy, and secure. Employers complain that they have no effective way of identifying aliens if they present a counterfeit drivers license or social security card. However with a national ID they could buy a $100 device (card-reader and thumbprint scanner) to plug into their computer that would allow them to match the photo and thumbprint of an applicant to the master database over the internet and verify a person's status in minutes. It's just another tool to allow better enforcement of existing laws. Mexicans may swim the river for a 95% chance of finding a job in America. If that chance dropped to 5% without an ID, then they would have to go to the embassy and apply for a work permit and ID legally and be checked out properly by the authorities. I don't necessarily want to keep immigrants all out, I just want them to go through the legal process.
Against. You can sum it up to a few easy reasons We can't afford it We can't pay people to man it Politicians..
I would agree to it if it allowed me to carry concealed in all 50 states. So that's pretty much a....no.
With me saying "The sad thing is that were pretty close to being there already and few really give a ****," it should be clear that I agree that we pretty close to a national id as it is. That doesn't mean that I like it as it is, nor does it mean that I should be okay with it. I don't find laws and regulations sufficient protections in and of themselves. The only true protection from tyranny is a public that won't accept it. Our rights must be embedded in the public's psyche. The best chance of embedding fundamental rights is thru the constitution. Laws and regulations don't cut it when executive lawyers (see John Yoo) argue that the President is above the law. Give me my amendment and I'm with the national id, but even then I don't think I should have to carry it at all times or produce it at the whim of authorities.
