Just Say No…10 reasons to not get an ID card

Article published: Wednesday, August 19th 2009

It’s pretty clear that most of us won’t be signing up to the scheme when it’s launched, but just in case you were undecided here are ten reasons why you shouldn’t….

1. Cost to the tax payer – the scheme could cost as much as £20bn, £14 billion more than the government have suggested. The money could be much better spent on public services.

2. Cost to you, the individual – they would probably struggle to give them away but the government are asking you to pay £30 for your card.

3. They might be scrapped anyway – all the other major parties are against the scheme so when (not if) Labour lose the next election the scheme will probably be dropped and you’re unlikely to get your money back.

4. You’ll be treated like a criminal – they will take your DNA and other details that in the past have only been taken if you’ve committed a crime.

5. If you get one it makes it easier to force the scheme on others – the government are trying to bring in the scheme gradually, targeting one section of the population after another. Each time they succeed in forcing it on one group, eg. non-EU nationals, it makes it easier to impose it on others.

6. They can’t be trusted with your personal details – the government is always losing information. It has been estimated that over the past two years, details from 30 million individuals has been lost at some point. The ID system could, ironically, make identity fraud easier.

7. You shouldn’t give in to the politics of fear – the government are using scare tactics to get us to sign up, if it isn’t Bin Laden it’s Eastern European fraudsters or asylum seekers. ID cards wouldn’t have stopped 7/7.

8. We already have enough ID – if we need to prove our age or identity we can show a passport or driver’s licence. It’s unnecessary.

9. Don’t give into blackmail – the government are saying that they will deny services to those without the cards, for instance students may not be able to get a loan without one.

10. You’ll be subjecting yourself to the threat of fines – if you sign up you will become subject to new laws on information and could face fines of up to £2000 if you fail to comply.

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Comments

1. […] Source: http://themule.info/article/just-say-no-10-reasons-why-not-to-get-an-id-card […]

   Pingback by 10 Reasons Not to Get an ID Card « Luton Community Rights Action on August 19, 2009 at 10:37 am

2. When discussing ID cards I’ve often had people say something along the lines of “I’m not breaking any laws / doing anything wrong / got nothing to hide… so I’m fine with having one”.

   Point 4 needs to be clarified here because it uses the word “criminal” without considering who has the power to name crimes. Homosexuality and abortion were crimes relatively recently. Homosexual acts were illegal in Jersey until 1990. The government is making it increasingly difficult (i.e. illegal) to protest, to assemble etc. Our intentions are judged, increasingly, and likely suspects – on the basis of their sociological markers – are deported or flung in jail for things well heeled researchers would be congratulated for.

   Big Brother was never meant to be understood as benign, or caring. ID cards do not allow you to be known; they allow you to be judged, by those with the power to act on their judgements. That is the terrifying thought.

   Comment by Sio on August 20, 2009 at 1:41 pm

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