New Concepts... in National ID
In the case of the USA, If for a moment we can separate education/public benefits and State espionage/surveillance, and revamp the IRS to account for commercial and criminal elements, the IRS desperately needs to come up with some sort of 2-part identification and some new laws to impose severe sanctions upon those who defy the changes.
I would propose that since the existing SSN (Social Security Number) scheme as an identification system for its purposes has been compromised by schools, lenders, employers, and others, that it be treated as compromised completely.
There should be a assigned a biometrically-generated ID that is disclosed ONLY to the individual. The individual's existing and newly-assigned numbers might by necessity be kept combined in certain situations such as military, incerceration, and where armed/sworn civilians are charged with public safety.
Consider this: In South Korea, by law, no one can have cellular or internet access without having a national ID number. I am not sure of the exact format, but if it is as I've seen in a film, it is a series of 6 digits hyphenated by 7 digits. From what I've read online, males' digits end odd, and females' even.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Resident_registration_number
For more countries, see:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/National_identification_number
In SK, in anything that requires an individual to supply the NID, males will also have a military service ID number, or an exemption to explain the lack of one. But, imagine if in the UK or USA or other places one could not surf or make mobile calls from one's own phone without supplying an NID.
Some if not all one-time-use "credit" cards -- if you read the VERY VERY fine print -- require the purchaser's SSN. I am not sure if they would use as a substitute the user's or activating individual's SSN or accept some bogus entry.
But, the new scheme of SSN-suffix needs to be something that isolates all known ID of a person and acts only as the individual's known-name and State benefits and insurer health benefits number to prevent con artists from depriving a person of his or her retirement or health benefits. Other things such as loans, employment, and so on should be left on the old number and ONLY in special cases associated with the new, very-private number.
Feel free to expand on it for me!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
