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January 06, 2005
"Not to be used for identification purposes . . ."
This proposed federal legislation looks ominous to me: Under the new bill sponsored by Rep. David Dreier, California Republican and the chairman of the House Rules Committee, anyone applying for a job would have to get a new Social Security card with their photograph and biometric information on it. Employers would be required to verify a job applicant's legal status. Employers who violate the law would be fined $50,000 per instance, five times the current penalty, and the bill calls for hiring 10,000 new Homeland Security Department investigators to enforce the law.If I am reading this correctly, "anyone applying for a job" means, well, nearly anyone. Anyone who wants to work, that is. If this isn't national ID, I'd like to know precisely what would be national ID? The "reassurances" which are being proferred don't look terribly reassuring to me, and the ACLU (an organization I generally dislike, but support for lack of a decent alternative) opposes the bill: Opponents to Mr. Dreier's bill already are lining up, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying the new Social Security card amounts to a national ID — something that riles some in both the conservative and liberal camps.Let me try to analyze this. If you emblazon "This is not a national ID card" on a national ID card, does that make it not a national ID card? "National identification" means: I suppose the argument could be made that it isn't mandatory, as no one has to work. Really? How many people neither have to work nor will ever change jobs, or ever have to look for work? And what protection is offered by the statement on the card that "this is not" what it clearly is? Or that it will not become what it certainly seems destined to become? Frankly, I think the reassurances are scarier than the proposal itself. What kind of morons do they think we are? Don't answer! Obviously, it's a rhetorical question, considering the long history of government declarations that they aren't doing what they are doing. Unless, of course, you believe that bridge tolls are "temporary," that certain taxes aren't really taxes, or that tax withholding constitutes "voluntary compliance"! I remember Americans were told in 1965 that silver coins would "remain in circulation." (In 1967 they were withdrawn from circulation, of course.) The bill's author contends that the stated goal is to ensure that only bona fide U.S. citizens can work. Yet there is nothing to prevent this card from being used as identification, any more than there are any laws preventing a driver's license from being used as identification. I could see Dreier's argument having some validity were there specific language prohibiting the use of the new cards for any other purpose than employment verification -- with criminal penalties for anyone demanding one for any other purpose. I doubt they'd include such a provision, because I think it's pretty obvious the goal here is national ID. I'd be willing to bet that banks, businesses (I'll bet the airlines love it), and assorted police organizations will line up in support of the bill too, and not so that they can verify employment status. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I think that your money should be yours, that you should be free to work for anyone willing to hire you, to hire and fire anyone you want, and that the government has no right to turn employers into law enforcement agents. I'd enjoy knowing precisely which enumerated power in the Constitution authorizes the government to force employers and employees in a supposedly free country to get and use these cards. While still on the list of free countries, the United States no longer ranks among the top ten most free countries in the world, and with laws like this, we'll fall further behind. (We've only Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands to beat before we lose the "free country" classification.) Pretty soon, someone's bound to ask basic questions like "Where's the freedom we're fighting for?" (Doh! It'll be in the burgeoning underground economy, stupid!) This proposal is not new. The Cato Institute's Stephen Moore analyzed a startlingly similar similar bill back in 1997: Recently, a congressional subcommittee held hearings on H.R. 231, legislation proposed by Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., to "improve the integrity of the Social Security card." McCollum's bill would mandate a personal photograph on each Social Security card in order to make it as counterfeit-resistant as a passport. In theory, illegal aliens would be unable to use forged credentials when applying for jobs. Last year, McCollum narrowly failed to win passage of his bill in the House.I guess it's now seventy years later. Do bad ideas become good ideas with age? posted by Eric on 01.06.05 at 05:36 PM
Comments
Ummm....I live in So. Cal I'm so friggin' tired of MY tax dollars used to bail out corrupt Mexico I have little sympathy for the ACLU's "their zeal to attack immigrants" [insert numerous expletives] Where the *** did the word "illegal" go you morons? Our schools are sh*t, our hospitals are going broke, our emergency services are strained to the breaking point (my daughter is a paramedic in the Inland Empire and her company counts it as a GOOD month when they collect 35% of their billings) our prisons are over crowded, legit businesses are going out of business because they are being undercut by those businesses that pay under the table and much of it is because of ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. And under the radar for most is the CRIME, gangbanging, murder, drug running, etc, controlled by the Mexican Mafia. And terrorists willing to use Mexican crime gangs to get into this country and the Mexican government handing out how-to books to illegals to get here. Sorry. At this point I'll even drop the veil. National ID card. Now. Darleen · January 7, 2005 10:17 AM Related, but at a slight tangent, I once asked a friend of mine who was ranting on the subject: "Why shouldn't I be able to hire an illegal alien if I want to? It's my business and my money." I never did get a completely coherent answer. "When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere." - Lazarus Long No, Darleen, it's: "National ID's NO!" ;) We don't have an elsewhere to go. And no space travel to get there. Suggest you best find another way to solve the problem. This is an idea that doesn't smell any better with age. Ironbear · January 8, 2005 07:09 AM Ironbear Sure, hire the illegal allien. But stop making me pay for his/her medical care, schooling, etc. What YOU are doing is profitting only YOURSELF and letting your neighbors pick up the expenses without their consent. That, sir, is not libertarian in the least. If you believe in the concept of private property, then you cannot wholely dismiss those measures that seek to protect it. I love Heinlein and I know the quote well. But there is no elsewhere at this moment. You come up with a viable alternative instead of shackling every suggestion that comes down the pike. Darleen · January 8, 2005 10:06 AM Darleen, Actually, the national ID is being promoted on two fronts: the 9/11 Commission report directs individual states to comply with federal standards in issuing drivers' licenses, with such "compliant" ID being needed for anything to do with the federal government, including TSA checks at airports. The report also mandates the establishment of internal checkpoints and comprehensive screening systems, so in 5-10 years Americans will be forced to present federally approved documents on a regular basis just to conduct their daily lives: in travel and employment. Combine this with what is already the worlds most intrusive tax system, and the freedoms we cherish will soon be mere memories of a quaint bygone age, but there will still be illegals and terrorists. Fiona · January 9, 2005 08:15 AM |
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I'm just waiting for the identification implant. Gattica?!?