Obama Gives States a REAL New Year's Gift

Imagine walking down the street to the corner store for a newspaper and being stopped by policeman.  He demands to see an official government-issued photo ID.  You don't have it with you.  The policeman tells you you're subject to a fine, and takes you into custody until authorities can ascertain your identity.

Is this a totalitarian nightmare of East Germany or the Soviet Union?  No, this is everyday life in dozens of countries that have issued citizens national ID cards that must be carried at all times.  Failing to present the card upon demand is an offense in many of these countries (e.g., Spain).

Once a system of universal identification is established, it's a short step to requiring people to have and carry ID cards.  And at least in the United States, that's where an obscure law called the "Real ID Act" comes into play.

Enacted in 2005, the Real ID Act established "national uniform standards" for driver's licenses.  Once the law comes into effect, state driver's licenses that fail to conform to federally mandated "minimum standards" will no longer be valid for any federal "official purpose." Examples of "official purposes" include boarding an airplane, buying a firearm, obtaining federal benefits, or even entering a federal courthouse.  

From the outset, state governments hated the REAL ID initiative.  The main reason had nothing to do with any concern about privacy, states' rights, or any other constitutional concern, but a much more immediate problem: money. 

REAL ID is a classic "unfunded mandate," foisted upon the states by the federal government.  Estimates of implementing it nationwide run into the tens of billions of dollars.  That's chump change in comparison with the cost, say, of bailing out AIG.  But for fiscally strapped states, it represents a big stack of mostly borrowed dollars.

But now, President Obama has come to the rescue!  Earlier this month, Homeland Security Administration Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the Obama administration would abandon the Dec. 31, 2009 deadline for states to adhere to the new requirements.  Presumably, in the next few months, the HSA will roll out its own REAL ID deadline, or push for a less expensive "PASS ID" proposal backed by Napolitano.

As I've pointed out in a previous blog entry, neither REAL ID nor PASS ID will improve security.  Computer experts have easily duplicated virtually every state-of-the-art identification document that current exists.  There's zero proof that high-tech drivers' licenses will be any different.

Indeed, the REAL ID initiative will actually make us less secure, particularly against crimes like identity theft.  The law authorizes creation of a national database to include details on nearly 250 million licensed drivers.  The database will consist of a series of interlinking systems operated and administered by the states.  Each state must provide electronic access to all other states to information contained in its motor vehicle database.  An interlinked system is a far greater security risk than a decentralized one with each state issuing ID cards according to its own rules. 

Call me a cynic, but I think the real reason Congress enacted the REAL ID has nothing to do with security.  The REAL ID system is merely a stepping-stone to get Americans accustomed to carrying supposedly secure identification documents all the time.  Once we've been conditioned to do that, the government can expand the use of a secure ID so that it can also be used as a debit or credit card.  And when that's accomplished, the government could eliminate cash altogether.  It's a short step from "debit/credit cards accepted here" to "Sorry, we only take debit/credit cards." 

This will be my last blog entry of 2009—best wishes for the coming year!

Copyright © 2009 by Mark Nestmann

Comments

[f.ec]

Just reflect on rate of losses of freedom that Americans have experienced over the past 8-9 years and project that same rate over the next 8-9 years or maybe 20 years - what do you see? The USA might just as well be inhabited by robots - which is basically what everyone will be - unless it becomes too unbearable. Maybe when that happens there will be a revolution, just like history has seen in many similar situations - except this time the US Gov't appears to be preparing for such an eventuality, with body scans, travel restrictions (voluntary because of the inconveniences and invasion of privacy), and currency restrictions (coming soon to a theatre near you). Offshore is looking better all the time.
PS: Please excuse me for using an alias through hushmail and sending it through a VPN (you can still get some privacy). I would use encrypt it with PGP, but it might not get opened by average shmoe/shmee. Happy New Year!

[Russ]

Excellent point about the long term goal of eliminating cash.

Governments and Banks hate cash.

Governments hate cash for many reasons but chiefly - because of the anonymity it provides those who want to deal off the books.

--The tax take on cash transactions is relatively small compared to the take on transactions accounted for and documented with cards.

-- If cash were eliminated their downright control of each of us would greatly increase.

BANKS hate cash because they don't get a % of the cash transactions. Debit and CC transaction fees make up a huge profit center for the banks.

It should send shivers down the spine of anyone who values their freedom to envision a cashless world.

That will be a world where the Government/Banks get to exercise total economic control over every citizen.

[watcher]

One step closer to the mark of the beast.

[Ray]

Loos of freedom, the death of the United States as we knew it. The muslims have won.

[Stumpy Pope]

It makes me very sad to see the "progress" of the American system. Our freedoms are but a memory. The possibility that our freedoms can be retrieved with a revolution is remote at best and would take generations to accomplish. I feel totally betrayed by our lawmakers. We voted them in with faith they would do what they promised. I see nothing good in the future of our once great country.

[Jacob]

A Slumbering reflection of a once greta republic