The US identity verification system is fundamentally broken because it relies on Social Security Numbers as a secret, which are structurally weak and now widely exposed. Sweden's BankID offers a compelling alternative: a two-factor authentication system used by 75% of the population, backed by a small number of regulated banks that collaborated to build shared digital infrastructure. The author argues the US banking system is too fragmented and the federal government too passive for a similar solution to emerge, though state-level adoption (e.g., California DMV or tax authority) remains a slim possibility.
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