Posted on 05/06/2016 5:29:07 AM PDT by Carriage Hill
The information on your driver’s license is a gold mine and Pennsylvania is cashing in. The NBC10 Investigators found the state has earned more than $157 million since 2010 selling driver records.
An NBC10 analysis of the more than 32,000 private companies and government agencies to which PennDOT sold driver information, traced it to every state in the country.
The companies include credit agencies, insurance companies and car dealerships. The information PennDOT sold includes names, addresses, and driving histories.
Your private information is being sold by gov't. Again.
Apparently, this BS has been going on in PA since well before 2010. Corbett's administration was involved, and possibly Ridge's. Who knows how far back it goes?
NJ also sells its records to over 1,500 commercial companies; Delaware claims it doesn't.
But here's the real nugget:
"An NBC10 analysis of the more than 32,000 private companies and government agencies to which PennDOT sold driver information traced it to every state in the country."
LINK: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/investigations/Pennsylvania-Making-Millions-by-Selling-Your-Drivers-Record-378325091.html
Gee, what a surprise.
Not mine, not a Pa. resident. However, that doesn’t mean other states aren’t doing the same and just not yet been exposed.
If they can do it, make money from it, and get away with it, they’ll do it.
Just another example on how the various government data bases are used to data mine the info of private citizens. I really think it is time to burn down this entire system and start over.
On the other hand, try to get a list of those on welfare, illegal citizenship or fags with AIDS and the like and you get stiffed. IOW, if you are a legal pay your bills person, you are fair game because someone can make money off you. If not, you are protected.
Most likely.
Of that I have no doubt.
I thought states routinely provided info to insurance companies and other states. Insurers are always checking records. States from the driver’s license compact. Attorneys usually have access to more detailed electronic court records for a fee. For credit, it’s a bit more obscure, but your credit worthiness is somewhat tied to your risk factors.
So unless they’re selling it to WalMart, it seems to me that what was once largely provided for free is now being charged for.
So how do you want to frame it? “They’re selling our records!” or “They’re reducing general taxes by passing the cost to the user.”
In Florida, every time you get a ticket for even the smallest infraction, you get inundated with mail, email, and phone calls from lawyers soliciting your business.
It is a disgrace.
This apparently goes WAY beyond routine record provision to other states and ins cos.
“An NBC10 analysis of the more than 32,000 private companies and government agencies to which PennDOT sold driver information...”
Way beyond.
“Apparently” is right. Sorry, I’m still not alarmed.
The article makes no mention of any particular company or agency that I’m surprised to hear about.
You go to car dealership and want their credit - DL check.
Want an insurance quote - DL check.
Background investigation - DL check.
Gun permit - DL check.
Want to adopt - DL check.
Get pulled over - DL check.
I’ve noticed a lot of dealerships and independent insurance companies (through mail) just in my local area.
Note it’s 32000 private AND govt agencies. To attempt to contrast, it says NJ provides records to 1500 private companies. However, since that number doesn’t include the gov agencies, it not a good comparison.
Also note that no timeframe is mentioned. Is this 32000 in the past month, or over the last 10 years? Is the Jersey comparison over the same time period?
If they weren’t selling it, they’d be covering the expense of the list items I mentioned above with general taxes. So I still don’t find this terribly alarming.
What would bother me is, which is very likely, that they started charging this WITHOUT cutting general taxes. Most states attempt to raise taxes “quietly” this way, e.g., cell phone, internet taxes, business license fees...
Quick google check:
how many municipalities are there in the united states
Answer:
The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2007) counted 39,044 general purpose local governments, which includes 19,492 municipal governments, 16,519 township governments and 3.033 county governments.Mar 2, 2015
So unless PA drivers never move or travel and never get pulled over (don’t forget rental cars), there are plenty of gov agencies out there ready to request data in addition to private companies - all with legitimate purpose.
I have little respect for the media. I refuse to share their “hype” especially when there are numbers involved. When an article includes a number, you can be assured that they have left out more relevant facts than usual.
The article is hyping things up with the presumption that the data provided is not of legitimate purpose. You read it, and they get to count you as a “viewer” when marketing their advertising rates. They leave out that this same data would be provided to those companies and agencies REGARDLESS.
Don’t be a sap for hype (or propaganda) and learn to read with a more critical eye.
As you well know, taxes NEVER go down. The ‘decrease’ in one is merely shifted to another area of taxation, and well-distributed and hidden inside other line items. Public pablum. As a farm/nursery business owner (now retired) in the hort/ag industries, I never saw anything decrease from any crevice of gov’t. Once they have your data, they think they own your life.
It’d be a safe bet that the 32,000 includes more private firms than gov’t agencies, so all those Google numbers are moot until the 32,000 breakdown is known. By itself, it’s a huge number.
That may be, but again, the article makes absolutely no indication whether or not any of the records provided had legitimate purpose.
If every single record provided had legitimate purpose would you still be upset? The absence of this critical and most relevant point makes me more critical of the article.
But if the article was about when PA legitimately passes on drivers records to other companies and agencies, it would probably be a rather boring story that you wouldn’t click on...
Guess that explains why every time my paid-for car comes up for registration renewal I am inundated with junk mail from car dealers. And from Sirius XM with offers to turn my XM radio back on.
Yes, I’d be upset. I don’t like being passed around like an Infidel at a Taliban picnic.
Link broke, but your name, address, zip and phone are worth much more.
Good luck going Galt!
If you’re upset that there are those that need to see your record at certain times, then I guess you should surrender your license now, because it’s going to happen.
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