From: "Lynne L. Harrison" <lharrison@dueprocess.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 14:02:20 -0700 (PDT)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: DOT and SSN's
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980703170726.007e9170@pop.mhv.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


The Government Has Our Numbers
by Lori Patel 
4:00am  3.Jul.98.PDT

Your banker has it. Your employer has it. Your insurer, the IRS, and,
frankly, you can't remember who else has it. So what difference does it
make if the US Department of Transportation joins the crowd asking to see
your Social Security number?

Recently, the department published its intention to require all states to
verify Social Security numbers before issuing or renewing drivers'
licenses.  Depending on who one asks, the significance of this decision can
swell or shrink like a top-notch
special effect. 

"Fear of crime and terrorism has caused us to let down our guard against
excessive intrusion into the lives of the law abiding. The ease of minor
borrowing and the transformation of shopping into recreation has addicted
us to credit cards," wrote
New York Times columnist William Safire. "Taken together, the fear and the
ease make a map of our lives available to cops, crazies, and con men alike."

. . .
 
http://www.wired.com/news/news/email/other/politics/story/13441.html