[baby_souffle]

“You show ID at the bank” is a classic, juvenile and tired argument because it swaps in a voluntary transaction for state coercion.

The concern isn’t IDs exist—it’s who’s demanding them, in what context, and what happens if you can’t comply on the spot.

[jiggawatts]

Not to mention that the USA has a long history of looking down their nose at the USSR for doing exactly what the USA is doing now.

I forgot that HN is mostly filled with a younger generation that might not get the reference.

The "Papers, please." quote is a common trope in spy movies, books, etc... about the former Soviet Union.