I'm failing to see a downside here, unless it's linked to financial information. I'd sure rather have an ID other than my SSN scrawled on literally hundreds of documents from dentists to phone companies, and if this had been in place in 2004, WA? state would most very certainley have a different governor right now.
Right now social security cards are the gold standard for getting credit, and all you need to know is the number - rarely does anyone ask to see it, and even if they did, they don't come with pictures, nor do credit cards.
Everyone legally in this country already has a national ID card in the form of the social security card, and it's insecure as hell, so why fight against better, more secure ID? I've already had my identity stolen once, and I'm sick of illegals & imaginary citizens voting and sucking the life out of our economy & health services, so unless someone has a better idea.........
Actually I have one.
End Social Security and give us our damned money back.
Problem solved.
Oh and we might want to do away with that Welfare State thingy that seems to entice so many people to break our immigration laws.
Just at thought.
L
Because the IDs do little for security, and much for oppression.
"Papers, please" was long a catch-phrase indicating the worst of government oppression (Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, etc.); you want that history repeating here? (no, it won't be different this time.)
Because consolidating (be it explicitly or practically) all IDs into one creates a huge 4th Amendment violation.
On demand and without a search warrant, a random bureaucrat can pull up darn near any info about you, most unrelated to the issue at hand (should you be compelled to reveal your federal retirement plan to drive? reveal your CCW info to vote?).
Because a single point of ID becomes a single point of theft.
Hack up one Real ID card and I'm you.
Because good ID does not remove intent.
The 9/11 hijackers had lots of IDs, all perfectly legit, hiding nothing; all those IDs did was confirm who crashed the planes, doing nothing to prevent the crash.
Because ID is only as good as the data, and data is fallible.
Jokes aside, that Ted Kennedy and Cat Stevens ended up on a "no-fly list" shows the absurdity.
Because if the ID would actually do any good, the would-be perp will simply do something else.
If the lock is secure, break the window.
If the Maginot Line is impassable, go around it.
If boarding the target plane is disallowed, stand at the end of the runway.
If the right paperwork is unavailable, green paperwork usually finds a way.
A standardized national ID does little good for the people, but does great harm to the people.