Permanent Identity Underclass

Full Title or Meme

A class of people have always existed in any part of the world that are not identified to be a part of the local society.

Context

• Historically people that were not part of society were called Gypsies, Travelers or similar epithets.
• Today we recognize people in a community that are unable to acquire an identity card which entitles them to social benefits.

Related efforts

• ID202 effort to enable everyone on the planet with a digital identifier.
• Access Now report on WhyID: World Bank and dangerous digital ID systems do not mix (2022-09-07)

Example User Storey

This is a true story of the interaction of two people in the British Isles, but example existing in every community of people who live among us but are not recognized or given official status to share the in benefits of the community.

Participants

1. Jeremy Thorpe, a Privileged person that is a full member of the community.
2. Norman Scott, an Outsider person that is unable to acquire the benefits of the community.
3. Rules created and enforced by the community for determining who may participate in the benefits of the community.
   1. Exclusionary rules often created and enforced by the interior department for those enabled to work. In the US this is the DHS.
   2. Social Benefits provider often created and enforced by the Social Benefits office. In the US this is the CMS federally.
   3. Standards organization that attempts to write rules about how people can be Authenticated. In the US this is the NIST.

The Story

Norman Scott (then known as Norman Josiffe) left school at 15 with no qualifications and wound up on probation for theft. He worked in a stable and started an affair with Thorpe. Norman was penniless, homeless and, worse, had left employment without the National Insurance card which, at that time, was essential for obtaining regular work and access to social and unemployment benefits. Thorpe promised he would help and did find him living arrangements in London near Thorpe. In April 1962 Norman obtained a replacement National Insurance card which, he later said, was retained by Thorpe who had assumed the role of his employer. This was denied by Thorpe, and the "missing card" remained an ongoing source of grievance for Norman. Later Thrope got employment for Norman in Switzerland. By early 1965 Norman was in Dublin, where he worked at various horse-related jobs while continuing to badger Thorpe by letter about his missing luggage and the continuing National Insurance card issue. Thorpe rejected any responsibility for these matters. Later Norman tried unsuccessfully to get a passport to travel to America. In 1968 Thorpe has been reported to try to kill Norman, so that his position as head of the Liberal party would not be jeopardized. This all came undone and Thrope was tried for attempted murder but acquitted. Norman's life continues as a complete outsider to this day.

The story of lack of work papers continues in the US every day. The following story is true, but the name has been changed. Manuel has two children that were born in the US and are now entering college, but he still cannot get permission to work in the US and needs to take employment off-the-books. His state of residence has granted him a social insurance card, but when he went for surgery to clear up kidney stones, he was forced to get proof that he had worked from employers who had paid him off-the-book. He was lucky to find one that would and did get the surgery. It is unclear why the federal government can determine if he is able to work, but the state government determines if he is eligible for Medicare.

The Outcomes

There are millions of people who cannot get the benefits from the society where they live and work to create the community where they live, but without the benefits of those with the "proper" paperwork. Any attempt to create an identifier system, like that of NIST SP 800-63, needs proper paperwork to establish identity, but those millions of people without the paperwork are left out and by that exclusion create problems for those who are privileged to have proper paperwork. Now the US has the DHS trying to exclude people and the CMS trying to include people to assure public health. We cannot have a security society with different classes of people with different rights.

Solutions

• Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members - Pearl Buck
• The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. - Hubert Humphry