[MereInterest]

> The simple test for that is, why do people use SSNs as it's not legally required for anything but USG interactions.

Because if I want to open a bank account, rent an apartment, or get a mortgage, the other party requires me to give them my SSN, on the assumption that it is a valid unique key for tracking debt payment reliability.

It doesn’t matter that the SSN is only legally required for interactions with the US government. When housing is a human necessity, and all sources of housing require a SSN, then using a SSN is not a choice from which one can infer preferences.

[lesuorac]

Companies ask for the SSN because its so much more efficient than their previous systems.

They already did debt repayment without SSNs; it's just easier with one. The existence of fraud with a SSN doesn't mean there wasn't fraud without one; and if there was more fraud now then companies would abandon asking for SSNs.

You might not like SSNs but their existence has been a benefit not a detriment to the USA.