But you need a way to identify people. If there's no good way to identify real people (government issued ID number), those that need them will invent bad ones (SSN, phone number, maiden name, maybe more). And companies like Google have their own identifier for you already, anyway. And you can't travel anywhere without a passport that is another identifier, anyway.
I'm impressed how much Americans dislike the idea of a mandatory government issued ID. I don't mean it in a bad way - this sounds like a very principled and idealistic stance. I just really like my government issued ID, and consider it a reasonable tradeoff.
I'm not american. Not only do I want the government to know nothing at all about me, I also want it to be illegal for others to develop those alternative identification methods. Those who "need" such things should have to figure out a way to avoid needing it.
I'm impressed how much Americans dislike the idea of a mandatory government issued ID. I don't mean it in a bad way - this sounds like a very principled and idealistic stance. I just really like my government issued ID, and consider it a reasonable tradeoff.