5 ms·

I think it's time we just eliminated the concept of personally identifiable information (PII). Your SSN, birthdate, name, etc. are no longer secret. Operate wit

I think it's time we just eliminated the concept of personally identifiable information (PII). Your SSN, birthdate, name, etc. are no longer secret. Operate with that assumption. Invest in a department in the government (e.g. digital service) to make this change once and for all. Heck, let's eliminate DST and move to the metric system while we're at it. Let's call this "moving to new standards" that will pay off in dividends in the future.

sp332 6y ago
Why would a bank give someone a loan if they have no idea who the person really is?
- ferongr 6y ago
  ID cards?
- dodobirdlord 6y ago
  How is any of this information supposed to secure anything? Name, birth date, address, etc are all public record or essentially public record. The only "secret" piece of information is the SSN, which is (a) public for almost all Americans and (b) specifically forbidden for being used as an identification number.
  - 3737e6y3yrydy 6y ago
    This is a very 'tech' response in a good way, it made me smile. I think they meant why would a bank give an anybody a loan? You have no way of knowing if an anybody already has a loan out with you and you have no ability to evaluate their risk. Why would you loan money to someone with no ability to review their credit health and financial situation? It's an impossible battle without inventing a user specific metric.
    - Xelbair 6y ago
      >It's an impossible battle without inventing a user specific metric. And that's exactly what happens over here. There is no credit score, nor other such bullshit. You get assessed for viability by proving your current income for last X months depending on the loan. There also exists a national black list of debtors - but to get there you must really mess up and not even try to pay back your loan.
      - 3737e6y3yrydy 6y ago
        How do you price your current income with no identifying information is the point that was being made. If you can prove your income then you have identifiers.
        Xelbair 6y ago
        you get a standardized form from your employer, or income transactions from the bank. They can use that data internally, but they cannot sell it nor give it to 3rd parties.
marcrosoft 6y ago
You had me until the whole “invest in government...”

sp332 6y ago

Why would a bank give someone a loan if they have no idea who the person really is?

ferongr 6y ago
ID cards?
dodobirdlord 6y ago
How is any of this information supposed to secure anything? Name, birth date, address, etc are all public record or essentially public record. The only "secret" piece of information is the SSN, which is (a) public for almost all Americans and (b) specifically forbidden for being used as an identification number.
- 3737e6y3yrydy 6y ago
  This is a very 'tech' response in a good way, it made me smile. I think they meant why would a bank give an anybody a loan? You have no way of knowing if an anybody already has a loan out with you and you have no ability to evaluate their risk. Why would you loan money to someone with no ability to review their credit health and financial situation? It's an impossible battle without inventing a user specific metric.
  - Xelbair 6y ago
    >It's an impossible battle without inventing a user specific metric. And that's exactly what happens over here. There is no credit score, nor other such bullshit. You get assessed for viability by proving your current income for last X months depending on the loan. There also exists a national black list of debtors - but to get there you must really mess up and not even try to pay back your loan.
    - 3737e6y3yrydy 6y ago
      How do you price your current income with no identifying information is the point that was being made. If you can prove your income then you have identifiers.
      - Xelbair 6y ago
        you get a standardized form from your employer, or income transactions from the bank. They can use that data internally, but they cannot sell it nor give it to 3rd parties.

marcrosoft 6y ago

You had me until the whole “invest in government...”