[fyrerise]

> I know this will never actually happen, but I sincerely wish the Social Security Administration would publish a complete official database of real name to SSN mappings.

A full list might not even be necessary — a form that would allow you to trade some basic details for an SSN might be enough to scare various agencies straight. At least that way isn't quite as iterable.

Honestly, this doesn't even sound all that implausible to me as long as some sort of sufficient warning was built into the announcement to give organizations a way to build alternatives. Say two years. After that, levy major fines against anyone who's not compliant with certain very basic security standards.

The biggest hurdle here isn't going to be backlash as much as it is comprehension. Just like with net neutrality and encryption, most lawmakers are going to have a hard time understanding why SSNs as secrets aren't a good thing, and they'll have to be convinced.