I believe Bob Blakley is spot on with his three reasons REAL ID is a bad idea:

1. The REAL ID act will spend an enormous amount of YOUR money on a technology which cannot in principle solve the stated problems.
2. The REAL ID act hands responsibility for solving a problem (terrorism and identity theft) to organizations (state DMVs) whose job does not involve solving these problems, who have no expertise in solving these problems, and who do not benefit in any way relevant to their own performance metrics from solving these problems.
3. The existence of single, federally mandated identifier for all US persons, required for all high-value transactions, will INEVITABLY create a host of secondary uses and a large number of unforeseen consequences.

It is the third that worries me most.  It is not the stated purposes that are bad.  It is the huge possibility that this system will be exploited and compromised to oppress the very people who paid for it.

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