[CharlesWayneCT]

The same people that pay federal taxes pay state taxes. If I have a choice between increasing my federal taxes so they can send money to my state to pay for this program, or simply having my state raise taxes, I would rather just have the state raise taxes. That way there is no middleman, we get all the money we pay in (rather than it going to other states), and if we can do the task efficiently we actually get rewarded, rather than screwed.

This IS a national ID card. We need a national ID card, because we require picture ID to fly on an airplane (among many other things). But states already have driver licenses and so it is much less expensive to piggy-back on the state license process already in place.

The states that do a bad job of checking people for licenses will have a bigger additional expense than those who check more thoroughly now.

In Virginia, we issued driver licenses to several of the hijackers. Those licenses allowed them to get on the airplanes that killed our fellow citizens.

A libertarian would not at all like that we have to provide proof of who we are to simply live our lives. But unless we want to just get rid of airplane security (a valid idea in my opinion) we need to make it mean something.

[jsbankston]

In ten years we will have to go to a Fed Identification Center and get our eyes scanned, a DNA Swab and a chip implanted in our butts.

[NJ_gent]

"But unless we want to just get rid of airplane security"

Airlines should have authority over their own security. If an airline requires that I show an ID they deem acceptable to board their plane, then my options are to show ID or not fly. I don't like that the Federal government sticks its nose into that. Certainly the airlines have every reason to keep their airplanes and passengers safe. To not do so would be to endanger their very existence as a company.

In short, I have no problem with companies attaching provisions onto my doing business with them, but I'm not very big on the Federal government sticking its nose where it doesn't need to stick its nose. I also find the idea of Soviet-style checkpoints and random stops/searches ("papers please") to be utterly repulsive. If we beat the Soviets, why are we trying so desperately to turn into them?

[dts32041]

I don't fly I don't drive, my checking accounts are all open I don't work, I am retired have access to the Internet and can order anything I want, why would I need a picture ID?

Extreme but there are people out there like this.

[sauropod]

We DO NOT need a national ID card.

Get a clue.