REAL ID costs: $11 billion, double time at DMV

[error]

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/09/25/real-id-costs-11-billion-double-time-at-dmv/

The agencies who will be responsible for implementing the provisions of the REAL ID Act, which requires upgrades to state driver licenses and identification cards to comply with federal regulations, said that the costs are likely to exceed $11 billion, and they want you to pay for it.

A report released by the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, says that the costs of reissuing driver licenses and identification cards within five years, establishing on-site identification verification procedures and meeting security and production requirements for the new card will cost $1 billion up front, and $10.1 billion over the next five years.

The REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, requires states to issue identification cards which conform to federal requirements by 2008, or they won't be accepted by federal authorities, and people won't be able to enter federal buildings, airports or receive federal services. But the Department of Homeland Security hasn't yet determined what the requirements will be.

Cost estimates for REAL ID compliance have varied, from millions of dollars right after the act was passed, to a $2.5 billion estimate released by a market research firm last month. The number just keeps increasing as time goes by.

In addition, complying with the act could double -- or more -- the time individuals spend obtaining or renewing their driver licenses and identification cards, the report said.

"The $11 billion question is, ?Who's going to pay for it?'" said NCSL executive director William T. Pound. "State legislators are eager to work with Congress and the administration to ease the impact of REAL ID and look forward to doing so."

And how do they want to ease the impact? They want the federal government to pay for at least some of the implementation costs, and extend the deadline for states to comply with the act.

Welcome to the $100 identification card. One way or another, you're going to pay for the card, whether directly through user fees, or indirectly through federal income taxes. You're going to have to spend the entire day at the DMV, rather than just half the day. And then all the data on that card is going into a centralized government database, so you can be tracked wherever you go.

This doesn't provide security for the people. This does, however, provide security for the government, against the people. Which was the whole point all along.

[Minsk]

"The $11 billion question is, ?Who's going to pay for it?'"

And the $11 billion answer is, "The citizens, you jackass."