Here & There Column 4-19-11

Social Security Identification Purposes

How many times over the years have you been asked to provide your Social Security number for identification purposes?
I can't even justify a number when I have had to provide my Social Security number as a means of identification.
Whoa.....wait one minute.....my and many others up until the 1980's have Social Security cards that specifically reads "For Social Securtiy Purposes-Not For Identification."
So why then does the does the state require it for driver's licenses and the county for voter registration.
A little research here disclosed the fact that when the Social Security Act was approved it didn't mean your social security number couldn't be used for identification purposes, just that the card itself couldn't be presented as proof of identify.
Then one can present the argument.....why didn't the card then say....this Card can not be presented as proof of identity.
Now we get down to the nuts and bolts of this entire discussion and the explanation for the initial warning "Not For Identification", was that prior to 1972 hving a social security card didn't prove much of anything and certainly not your identity.
The reason given for this is that obtaining a card was very easy and all one had to do is walk into any local social security office, fill out a form to two and they's assign you a number.
When social security numbers were first issues in 1936 the only thing you were supposed to do with the number was submit it to your employer when you started a new job.
The social security number then actually evolved into an "unofficial" identity number (although many on the federal level hate to admit this.)
In 1943 a presidential executive order directed the military and other government agencies to use the number for identification purposes and in 1961 the Internal Revenue Service began using the number for taxpayer identification.
As a result of all these changes the "not to be used for identification" line was dropped from the cards" and most places accept them as proof of identity.
Isn't government change and double talk wonderful?