I know this has come up before, but I can’t understand why we – as a nation – haven’t gone to national or universal identification cards. Does it really matter if every state has their own logo on our drivers license or ID card? No… In fact, we’ve already done something similar to this many, many years ago – we standardized our money!
It used to be that towns, cities, and states had their own currency. Yes, it works, but once people began traveling, it didn’t. So why not standardize (or Federalize) our drivers licensees and ID cards? I would be it would be less expensive over all, plus the added benefit of a single database!
Yes, a single database. Can you imagine how many people would suddenly have to start paying child support? Or how many criminals wouldn’t get set free by highway patrol because the criminal doesn’t have a warrant in the state that they are driving in? This is such a simple idea, and could be so well executed (even if the government does screw it up, it’s such a simple idea, it would still work!)
Courts, police departments, public services and all government agencies – all able to make sure that you aren’t scamming (or being scammed) in another state. And when you go to fly, you swipe your ID and press your thumb to a plate for fingerprint verification… fast, easy, secure… And no – don’t say "I don’t want the government to know when and where I’m flying!" THEY ALREADY KNOW! State records are easily obtainable by the Federal Government, so why not just make it one system?
The technology has been around for a LONG time already… we’re talking bar codes – not proximity or chip-based technology – BAR CODES and magnetic stripes! I say not proximity or chip-based because those are much more easily stolen because they are "transmitting" data through the air when the right technology is nearby. But the good ‘ol mag stripe is user friendly, simple, and standard…
I honestly cannot come up with any good reason whey we don’t have a national drivers license. Other countries have them, why not us?