[protomyth]

Well, the US has States and that complicates things quite a bit for this type of thing. Most states will give you a driver's license number as an id (with the appropriate "ID Only" mark).

There is also the Real ID Act[1] that trying to establish federal id requirements. This is going to cause some problems and look for it in the news. It is a DHS enforced national ID law.

And yes, some of the folks in the US believe a national ID that is needed to buy, sell, or get a job would be a little too close to the Bible's mark of the beast. That gives quite a lot of friction to any national id.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act

[CWuestefeld]

some of the folks in the US believe a national ID that is needed to buy, sell, or get a job would be a little too close to the Bible's mark of the beast.

You're exaggerating a bit into a strawman.

I strongly oppose REAL ID (which, by the way, was around for a while before the DHS existed). And as a "tooth fairy agnostic" as Dawkins would say, I'm not the least bit concerned about the number of the beast.

What I am concerned about - and this goes the same for anyone else with whom I've discussed the issue - is, why is it the federal government's business at all when and how I "buy, sell, or get a job"? This seems like a tool for the federal government to get its grubby mitts into more stuff that's not within its enumerated powers.

[protomyth]

"You're exaggerating a bit into a strawman."

Perhaps I should have separated that from the DHS stuff, but it is a belief of some folks (enough who vote to have made a long difference) and it goes to why we don't currently have a national id. It is part of the history in the US and the original poster is not from the US and wanted some reasons.

DHS is the agency currently charged with Real ID Act oversight. I'm not sure the who is important before the law is implemented.