andrewb@tekecs.TEK.COM (Andrew Burke) (08/01/87)
I also dislike giving out my SS#. Schools want it, hospitals and doctors want it, just so they can have a unique number to classify me under. I am very interested in who exactly does have the right to that number. Anybody out there know the law? Anyone have horror stories like the previous one about GTE? I find these very instructive. My story about refusing to give out the SS# concerns mostly schools. They always seem to require a number, probably because they usually need to get federal aid for the student. I always refuse (unless I need the aid), and I always am called by someone at the registration office - "Sir, you neglected to fill in this slot...". "No, I didn't 'neglect', I just didn't fill it in." "But sir, we need that number." "Why?" "For identication purposes." "Figure out your own number." "But..." and so on... Of course, the SS# is only one means of identifying a person. If I needed to find someone, there are many other ways. I just see no need to make it simple for Big Brother to determine whether I've taken certain classes, have had my appendix out, or other silly things that may be important if we ever have another Joseph McCarthy. andrew burke
aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt) (08/02/87)
Andrew Burke asks: > I am very interested in who exactly does have the right to that number. > Anybody out there know the law? I had a copy of the Privacy Act somewhere but I can't find it... As I recall the groups you have to supply your SS# to are the IRS and your employers. There may be other government agencies. I thought other documents were supposed to say "optional" under SSN, but I must admit very few do... Andrew Burt isis!aburt
alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) (08/04/87)
No government agency may require your Social Security number except for the Social Security Administration, the IRS, and any agency which was already requiring it before the passage of the 1975 Privacy Act. This grandfather clause covers the Selective Service people. I looked into this before registering for the draft. I may have gotten incorrect information, so check a law library or lawyer if this is important to you. Fred Wamsley
taylor@hplabsz.UUCP (08/06/87)
Pardon my ignorance, but what's all the big fuss about social security
numbers? The landscape is already littered with other numbers that are
more likely to cause one problems -- MasterCard/Visa/American Express/other
credit card numbers, for example. Is it just that social security numbers
may be one way of tracking down everything we do? Your local credit bureau
or your insurance company already know a heck of a lot about you without
following your SSN around. To me it just seems like much ado about almost
nothing.
--
John Miller (ecsvax!phco)
Dept. of Pharmacology, Univ. of N.C.-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 966-4343root@cit5.oz (Admin) (08/07/87)
It may be of general interest to the outside world that here in Australia the Labour Government is desperately trying to establish what is known as the "Australia Card", which will have to be produced for just about any major activity that a person could be involved in. This includes dealing with any government or semi-government department, buying or selling real estate, buying or selling shares, opening a bank account, etc, etc, etc. There are steep fines (and possibly jail sentences) for failing to report the loss of a card, missusing a card, etc. It is costing a huge amount of money to install and will cost private industry untold amounts of money to modify existing systems to cope with this new (mandatory?) form of identification. The reported benefits of this card (government propaganda) is the elimination of social security and tax cheats. It is generally known that the card will not have much effect on these cheats. There are no other reported benefits to the government and certainly no benefits to the general public. The disadvantages are obviously a major step towards a "Big Brother" society, and the cost in implementing a system that appears to be unable to achieve its reported goals. Someone recently said that the only difference between the "Australia Card" and identification papers in Communist countries is the greater efficiency provided by the computer systems involved. Heaven help Australian Democracy! :-(