So it appears the federal government has figured out social security numbers are not very secure.
What we need to be watchful and aware of is what kind of responses will come out of this, and what companies will benefit from the ‘new order’ of identity.
The first order of governance should be to re-evaluate why we have an opaque credit scoring system monopolized by three companies to begin with. Is this something we want in our city, or is it an example of systemic racial and class bias that tends to benefit the wealthy? Can we do something better?
I am quite sure that some of the members of Open Twin Cities have some good ideas, and I’d like to throw in the idea of a public blockchain currency with a Minneapolis issued Municipal Digital Identity that can, at the resident’s choice, be placed onto a traditional plastic chip card (like your credit card), or held on your smart phone.
If we are going to be a sanctuary city, we need to welcome immigrants, regardless of if they have a federal or state ID, and give them a mechanism to economically participate and identify themselves in our city.
And, given the current political climate, we have a civic duty to be a check and balance to un-american and fascist policies to deport immigrants without due process, or warrantless wiretaps and surveillance.
We can do this with a strong digital ID program like other leading-edge cities that keeps the data in our city, and under our local control, with strong encryption and the ability for our citizens to choose if they want the city to hold the keys for them, or their friends, so that in order to link an digital identity to a human, the holders of the keys must cooperate with whomever is requesting a link be made.
There are many reasons we may wish to have well regulated pseudonymous speech, and ensure that corporate and foreign money cannot buy millions of false voices to corrupt civic discourse as they easily do now, and we have no easy way of identify undue corrupt influence.
Vote for the Cryptographer for Mayor in November, and remember the most important votes you make are the ones you make every day with the choice of your money.
Mayor Troy 