# US National ID to be required - good idea or bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 12, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295 "2008-01-12T16:35:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/101 "2008-01-18T03:30:29Z")
[QUOTE=Tripler] Then I will reiterate that politicians with “higher clearances” won’t either–they don’t have the authority to look at that information. Just because you have a Top Secret clearance doesn’t mean you can look at _anything_ labeled ‘Top Secret’. It’s one of the principles of ‘Need-to-Know’ the whole program works on. I don’t think you understand how those programs work. Tripler Yeah, it’s not like I can waltz back into one of our divisions and ask, “Hey, can you show me the arming codes to someone else’s bombs?” [/QUOTE] I always find it so funny when someone repeats what I say back to me and then says I don’t understand it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/102 "2008-01-18T17:01:01Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] **Tastes of Chocolate** Perhaps, I’m simply not that concerned about it. [/QUOTE] After the number of security breaches resently, involving personal information of thousands of people, are you really not concerned? Take a look at [this list](http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm#CP) Jan 8, 208 - Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services - 260k social security numbers were printed on brochures. 12/28/07 - Someone steals a computer in Tennessee containing personal information, possibly including SS numbers, for every registered voter in one county. 337k people. 12/18/07 - A laptop is stolen from a home, containing information on 21k senior citizens. 12/17/07 - Information on 42k patients is on a laptop stolen from a nurse’s home 12/5/07 - records on 258k blood donors is on a stolen laptop. 11/30/07 - 150k members of a prescription insurance plan have their info exposed to someone charged with identity theft. The list starts in Jan 05. In 3 years, the KNOWN total is over 200mill records jeapordized, and there are lots of events where the numbers effected aren’t known. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/103 "2008-01-18T21:51:41Z")
[QUOTE=Tastes of Chocolate] After the number of security breaches resently, involving personal information of thousands of people, are you really not concerned? Take a look at [this list](http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm#CP) Jan 8, 208 - Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services - 260k social security numbers were printed on brochures. 12/28/07 - Someone steals a computer in Tennessee containing personal information, possibly including SS numbers, for every registered voter in one county. 337k people. 12/18/07 - A laptop is stolen from a home, containing information on 21k senior citizens. 12/17/07 - Information on 42k patients is on a laptop stolen from a nurse’s home 12/5/07 - records on 258k blood donors is on a stolen laptop. 11/30/07 - 150k members of a prescription insurance plan have their info exposed to someone charged with identity theft. The list starts in Jan 05. In 3 years, the KNOWN total is over 200mill records jeapordized, and there are lots of events where the numbers effected aren’t known. [/QUOTE] Right, so what this seems to show is that our security couldn’t possibly get any worse as the Social Security Number is the only info you need to fake the ID. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/104 "2008-01-18T23:41:18Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] I always find it so funny when someone repeats what I say back to me and then says I don’t understand it. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] So how many times do I/we have to repeat it until you realize you _don’t_ understand it? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/105 "2008-01-19T01:08:07Z")
I have to say that the sheer entertainment value of watching some people get their knickers all in a twist about it is a major selling point to me for a national ID. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295/106 "2008-01-19T21:05:16Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Right, so what this seems to show is that our security couldn’t possibly get any worse as the Social Security Number is the only info you need to fake the ID. [/QUOTE] I believe these are generally referred to as “famous last words.” Although lately such remarks often seem to be followed by phrases such as: “No one could have predicted things would get worse.” So really they’re more like “penultimate words.” We may need a new category. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-national-id-to-be-required-good-idea-or-bad/433295.md?page=5)