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I would imagine that many of you know about a current piece of legislation here in PA that would make us the first state to offer some sort of identity-theft protection (or something along those lines). It's based upon the gentleman from here in Philadelphia that had his identity stolen, causing him a ton of problems in getting another trucking job, insurance probs, etc.
Let's face it: The social security number IS our national ID, although it is not supposed to be used for that purpose. The first three digits of it tell either where you are from, or where you got your card. For example, I get strange looks when I give my SS# here in Philadelphia because mine starts with a 4 and not with a 1 like many folks here. Mine starts with a 4 because cards with numbers ranging from 486-500 mean that those cards have been issued to people in the state of Missouri. At one point, my SS# served as my drivers license number, my college ID number, and as a link to my credit report.
So, if we DID go to a "standard" national ID system, how would it work? Would I be number 200,123,418? What happens when people die, or move across state lines? How exactly would we ID people? By gender, race, or state of origin?
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