Jamo,
Actually, you have not read or understood what I have been saying.
I once had a hotel room in Japan that had a remote control bidet. Totally hilarious - but other than that what's the point? Despite your thinking to the contrary, I am not turned on by silicon(e). Technology (as far as I am concerned) is simply a tool. Sometimes it is a better tool, sometimes not.
I agree with you regarding the photo ID. I think it is a good idea. It is not a perfect solution, but I do think it will go a long way towards helping to solve the problem. So would a fence, passports, and more border patrols. Do you disagree with any of that?
And you are the one pushing a higher level of technology on businesses.
Lets see...
My solution:
photo/biometric ID (provided by Fed to worker)
ink pad
thumbprint form (provided by Fed to employer)
stamp
envelope
photocopier (to copy photo/biometric ID)
Sure, the turnaround time is probably not ideal. So lets step it up a bit...add a scanner, PC, and internet connection. You scan the thumbprint and send it with the SS# directly to a SSA website or email.. The SSA worker at the other end verifies and sends the output to the employers system.
All DB searches are tracked and logged and performed by SSA employees (a further fraud prevention feature), and are on an isolated network. No random searches of an SS number can be done.
Your version:
Photo SS card (provided by Fed to worker)
PC - mandatory
Internet connection - mandatory.
Looks like your version
requires a lot more tech than mine. Again, yours would be very nice in a perfect world, but the world is not perfect.
You should also back off from watching those flashy high-tech TV shows. Phone taps don't take 30 seconds, you can't resolve a 10 pixel security cam photo into a 10M pixel wanted poster, and a good hack will usually take a lot longer to plan than an episode of '24'.
Your comment about 'simple' technology simply shows how painfully unaware you are of what goes on behind the screen. Yes, the overall concept is simple. That is the part you understand. The actual implementation is not simple. That is the part you just have no clue about.
I do have to give you some credit, though. You seem to manage well enough - you moderate a site and you seem to have a good command of the GUI tools. Many folks in your age range don't have any interest in computers and don't want to know. Oh, and many of them are small business owners. Boy, that sucks for them under your model, doesn't it.
You say that the SSA DB has never been hacked so it is safe. When you were a young stud did you tell the girls "Hey, you've never been pregnant before, so it can't happen now!" Brilliant argument.
You really should know better. And , oh, wait,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/21/wa...rssnyt&emc=rss
The last paragraph says
"The Department of Energy, the Navy, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service also suffered data breaches last year where personal information was lost or stolen."
Wouldn't it be interesting to find out exactly what was hacked and how in the SSA??
It would probably be way over your head, but I will do my best to explain it without all the TLAs us voice/data guys are so well known for.
Steve