1) and 2) are definitely concrete things we can act on but 3) is a battle you will lose.
The only reason that SSNs remain convenient is because there is no viable alternative when your authorization hits government or financial institutions.
Maybe financial institutions will get wise (I doubt it, unless they have to pay $1,000,000 to every user whose SSN gets leaked from their systems) but the government will probably never change in our lifetimes.
It's not like universal government issued IDs haven't been suggested, but the SSN is used because it's the thing resembling one that hasn't died in committee or debate. There's no political will to create a single identification system for US Citizens and it will be fought tooth and nail by liberals and conservatives.
There is fundamental opposition to the very notion of a national ID system in the United States, it's not as simple as "opt-in" or "SSN would be backwards compatible."
The only reason that SSNs remain convenient is because there is no viable alternative when your authorization hits government or financial institutions.
Maybe financial institutions will get wise (I doubt it, unless they have to pay $1,000,000 to every user whose SSN gets leaked from their systems) but the government will probably never change in our lifetimes.
It's not like universal government issued IDs haven't been suggested, but the SSN is used because it's the thing resembling one that hasn't died in committee or debate. There's no political will to create a single identification system for US Citizens and it will be fought tooth and nail by liberals and conservatives.