The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
washingtonpost.com
The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
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Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#2It's interesting how the government here - NL - makes it mandatory for those over 14 to have a photo ID of sorts at all times and charges money for those. A government issued ID should be free of charge, especially if it is required by the government to have one, and they set the prices.
That's still a lot better than the situation described in the article which seems to be engineered to simply keep people in the hole once they through misfortune or carelessness slip up. It's sad too that it should come to volunteers to correct such situations, you'd think that the government would really like its citizens to be able to take part in society rather than to be pushed even further into the fringes.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#3Having to deal with something like this at the same time as being evicted and losing your mother is very sad, but that's not an excuse. It's a human interest story.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#4Got to keep those poor people away from the polls. It's interesting how the government here - NL - makes it mandatory for those over 14 to have a photo ID of sorts at all times and charges money for those. A government issued ID should be free of charge, especially if it is required by the government to have one, and they set the prices. That's still a lot better than the situation described in the article which seem…
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#5Got to keep those poor people away from the polls. It's interesting how the government here - NL - makes it mandatory for those over 14 to have a photo ID of sorts at all times and charges money for those. A government issued ID should be free of charge, especially if it is required by the government to have one, and they set the prices. That's still a lot better than the situation described in the article which seem…
Is there a way to offer that kind of system while avoiding the concerns about identity theft?
EDIT: After thinking it over, I guess identity theft isn't a big concern. It seems pretty unlikely that someone would actively exploit this system to get someone's ID, then their birth certificate, then somehow get a loan in their name, or something along those lines. I hope someone with more experience can chime in either way.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#6So she didn't have any opportunity over the forty years prior to secure any of those documents? Having to deal with something like this at the same time as being evicted and losing your mother is very sad, but that's not an excuse. It's a human interest story.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#7So she didn't have any opportunity over the forty years prior to secure any of those documents? Having to deal with something like this at the same time as being evicted and losing your mother is very sad, but that's not an excuse. It's a human interest story.
What reasons are there for the system to be structured such that obtaining an ID is difficult?
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#8So she didn't have any opportunity over the forty years prior to secure any of those documents? Having to deal with something like this at the same time as being evicted and losing your mother is very sad, but that's not an excuse. It's a human interest story.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#9Got to keep those poor people away from the polls. It's interesting how the government here - NL - makes it mandatory for those over 14 to have a photo ID of sorts at all times and charges money for those. A government issued ID should be free of charge, especially if it is required by the government to have one, and they set the prices. That's still a lot better than the situation described in the article which seem…
This seems like a pretty extraordinary claim made pretty casually.
What would motivate someone to intentionally prevent poor people from helping themselves?
It seems much more likely a case of straightforward government dysfunction enabled by all the usual factors that make the government suck at accomplishing things.
If the government ID infrastructure ran as well as Facebook's ad targeting department, we would have no problems of this kind whatsoever.
Re: The cruel Catch-22 of being poor with no ID
#10Got to keep those poor people away from the polls. It's interesting how the government here - NL - makes it mandatory for those over 14 to have a photo ID of sorts at all times and charges money for those. A government issued ID should be free of charge, especially if it is required by the government to have one, and they set the prices. That's still a lot better than the situation described in the article which seem…
Malice seems unlikely. There has to be some way to prove your identity, and people have tried to impersonate others. Is there a way to offer that kind of system while avoiding the concerns about identity theft? EDIT: After thinking it over, I guess identity theft isn't a big concern. It seems pretty unlikely that someone would actively exploit this system to get someone's ID, then their birth certificate, then someho…
A case was just before the Supreme Court:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/us/politics/voter-id-laws...