Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

gfintegrity.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 255 posts

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#21

Post by cabaalis »

teachrdan wrote: post #9
jdoliner wrote: post #4

I don't see any particular reason why the identification process for a corporation should be more stringent than a library card. What is astonishing to me is that both are meaningfully more stringent than voting. In Minnesota for example, all one needs is another registered voter to vouch for them. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/register-to-vot...

To the contrary: There were only four known cases of voter fraud in the 2016 elections[0]; more stringent voting requirements suppresses voting, especially by poor, black and/or Latinx voters.[1] It certainly seems the case that more damage has been done to society via corporations to which no human person can be associated than by voter fraud. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/0-... [1] h…

I wish I could read the second link, but not interested in bypassing their income (and not interested enough to pay them :) ) I'd like to know their research.

I had to sign up with my address, and I have to prove my identity when I vote. That all seems perfectly reasonable to me. Even a low-tech ink mark used by some places seems perfectly fine. The law is full of tradeoffs, and I think proving you have voted only once and where you are allowed to vote is perfectly legitimate.

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#23

Post by lone_haxx0r »

> To form a company in any state in the U.S., it is not necessary to identify or provide any information about the person(s) who will be ultimately be controlling the company. In some cases it isn’t even necessary to provide information about who will be managing the company and, where some information about managers (i.e. officers or directors) is required, it is very limited.

That's actually great!

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#24

Post by BonesJustice »

reaperducer wrote: post #10

I don't see the problem with this. With a library card, a person can act irresponsibly with public property. With a corporation, a person can act irresponsibly with private property.

If the scope of potential damage were limited to the assets owned by said corporation, perhaps.

In reality, a corporation so isolated would have no reason to exist.

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#26

Post by Operyl »

sneak wrote: post #15
lutorm wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Voting is a constitutional right, forming a corporation or getting a library card is not.

What about purchasing a firearm?

How was that relevant to the conversation?

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#27

Post by lloydde »

reminds me of other reading from today. You can get a US National (healthcare) Provider Identifier (NPI) without any verification:

> @Aetna @Cigna @UHC 27/ Medicare officials declined to be interviewed about Williams. But in a statement, they acknowledged that the agency doesn’t verify whether an NPI applicant is a medical provider or has a criminal history.

https://twitter.com/marshall_allen/status/115224361495057612...

> @Aetna @Cigna @UHC 16/ He kept getting new NPIs. For every application, Williams also obtained a new employer identification number, used for tax purposes.

But he never hid who he was, using his real name, address and phone number on the applications.

Medicare gave him 20 NPIs! https://twitter.com/marshall_allen/status/115224148431540633...

edited: provided the NPI meaning.

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#28

Post by eatbitseveryday »

reaperducer wrote: post #14
jdoliner wrote: post #4

I don't see any particular reason why the identification process for a corporation should be more stringent than a library card. What is astonishing to me is that both are meaningfully more stringent than voting. In Minnesota for example, all one needs is another registered voter to vouch for them. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/register-to-vot...

In Minnesota for example, all one needs is another registered voter to vouch for them. My thoughts on this are old school. Like 1700's old school. A person's right to vote exists with or without documentation. A piece of paper, an entry in a ledger, or a row in a database has no bearing on whether that right exists, or should be exercised. In many of the states where I've lived (13 so far), all that was needed to vot…

> My thoughts on this are old school. Like 1700's old school. A person's right to vote exists with or without documentation. A piece of paper, an entry in a ledger, or a row in a database has no bearing on whether that right exists, or should be exercised.

How do we ensure non-citizens aren’t voting? We accept many visitors - refugees, H1B, tourists, F1/I-20, etc. None are granted voting rights.

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#29

Post by dev_dull »

reaperducer wrote: post #14
jdoliner wrote: post #4

I don't see any particular reason why the identification process for a corporation should be more stringent than a library card. What is astonishing to me is that both are meaningfully more stringent than voting. In Minnesota for example, all one needs is another registered voter to vouch for them. https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/register-to-vot...

In Minnesota for example, all one needs is another registered voter to vouch for them. My thoughts on this are old school. Like 1700's old school. A person's right to vote exists with or without documentation. A piece of paper, an entry in a ledger, or a row in a database has no bearing on whether that right exists, or should be exercised. In many of the states where I've lived (13 so far), all that was needed to vot…

I like your thought framework but only as it exists within the electorate system. Without that system, a single city in a single state can jeopardize the entire system.

Re: The Library Card Project: The Ease of Forming Anonymous Companies in the U.S.

#30

Post by cddotdotslash »

hak8or wrote: post #7

This varies extremely across various states and cities. If you live in new York city for example, to incoroerate an llc, you need to take out a section in a news paper to say you created an llc of name so and so, every day, for like a week, within a year (if I remember right) of your incorporation. Across three news papers too. If you go "OK fine, I will incorporate elsewhere, like Delaware", then NYC views you as a…

It's a really annoying process, agreed. If you're looking to setup an LLC in NYC, I've heard you can form it upstate and do the newspaper requirement there (where publication is cheaper) and then transfer back to the city.
Post reply on HN