3 ms·

We should switch to a national ID system and be done with it. The patchwork we have is getting more ridiculous by the day.

CharlesW 4mo ago
Agreed, this would be a great way to streamline our country's government-controlled digital panopticon.
- wat10000 4mo ago
  I don’t get the impression that the current system is really getting in the way of that.
  - throwaway85825 4mo ago
    Instead we get a private panopticon that the government just rents.
Eufrat 4mo ago
Some of this is just the nature of American culture. Acceptance/rejection of federal authority is often irrational and leads to this patchwork. For instance, replace this statement with a national gun registry and watch people flip out.
mindslight 4mo ago
Not without an equivalent of the GDPR. Our current identification systems (DL#/SSN) are currently being flagrantly abused by the surveillance industry. This needs to be stopped before we go making identification even stronger.
devmor 4mo ago
I don’t want the federal government to have control or oversight on my ID. Why would anyone want that?
- dboreham 4mo ago
  Everyone with a passport wants that. I think the issue isn't so much the government having control (all governments in all countries have such control and the sky doesn't fall in) but rather the nature of the government the citizens of the US permit.
  - devmor 4mo ago
    I have a passport. I would prefer it was unrelated to anything except international travel. > I think the issue isn't so much the government having control (all governments in all countries have such control and the sky doesn't fall in) but rather the nature of the government the citizens of the US permit. Well, yes, of course. We aren't talking about the government of France or South Korea, we are talking about the US Federal government.
jandrewrogers 4mo ago
The US already has a national ID system. What the Federal government can't do is make it mandatory to have a national ID, either directly or constructively through regulation. This matter has been to the Supreme Court many times over several decades and it is a matter of settled law that only the individual States have this authority. It would require a Constitutional amendment to transfer this authority from the States to the Federal government. Congress can't just ignore the Constitution just because it is inconvenient.
- SidewaysView 4mo ago
  [flagged]

CharlesW 4mo ago

Agreed, this would be a great way to streamline our country's government-controlled digital panopticon.

wat10000 4mo ago
I don’t get the impression that the current system is really getting in the way of that.
- throwaway85825 4mo ago
  Instead we get a private panopticon that the government just rents.

Eufrat 4mo ago

Some of this is just the nature of American culture. Acceptance/rejection of federal authority is often irrational and leads to this patchwork. For instance, replace this statement with a national gun registry and watch people flip out.

mindslight 4mo ago

Not without an equivalent of the GDPR. Our current identification systems (DL#/SSN) are currently being flagrantly abused by the surveillance industry. This needs to be stopped before we go making identification even stronger.

devmor 4mo ago

I don’t want the federal government to have control or oversight on my ID. Why would anyone want that?

dboreham 4mo ago
Everyone with a passport wants that. I think the issue isn't so much the government having control (all governments in all countries have such control and the sky doesn't fall in) but rather the nature of the government the citizens of the US permit.
- devmor 4mo ago
  I have a passport. I would prefer it was unrelated to anything except international travel. > I think the issue isn't so much the government having control (all governments in all countries have such control and the sky doesn't fall in) but rather the nature of the government the citizens of the US permit. Well, yes, of course. We aren't talking about the government of France or South Korea, we are talking about the US Federal government.

jandrewrogers 4mo ago

The US already has a national ID system. What the Federal government can't do is make it mandatory to have a national ID, either directly or constructively through regulation. This matter has been to the Supreme Court many times over several decades and it is a matter of settled law that only the individual States have this authority. It would require a Constitutional amendment to transfer this authority from the States to the Federal government. Congress can't just ignore the Constitution just because it is inconvenient.

SidewaysView 4mo ago
[flagged]