What is the point in ID cards?

Sorry, I havn't been paying much attention to the whole identity card situation, can somebody bring me up to date?

What is the point in ID cards?
The point - none at all, except to raise revenue.





The update - ID cards are currently seemingly on hold. I doubt this idea will get off the ground. The former home secretary Charles Clark was keen on them, but he isn't around now, and they are not mentioned much anymore. BUT, there are plans afoot to make foreign visitors have one soon, and eventually all passports will be biometric, and will effectively mean all passport holders (75% of the UK population) will be a biometric ID card holder.





JEANIMUS - I note the sarcasm, and rightly so. The terrorism card is overplayed worldwide right now. Spain has ID cards, but it didn't stop the March 11 train bombings in Madrid.
Reply:The point of ID cards is that the government can impose hefty fines on anyone who doesn't keep to all the rules, such as keeping it on them at all times, reporting changes of address and so on. Any excuse for another set of fines is good news for the government, even though it means paying several kings ransoms to IT companies who routinely fail to deliver.
Reply:to be able to find out at the point of contact with a law officer if that person is a citizens and/or wanted
Reply:so we always have some thing to scratch our bums with just like the people that run this country but i think they do each others dont they ???
Reply:So we can be identified.........
Reply:prob be cheaper getting your name and address tattoed to your head?





and what are passports for, is that not proff of I.D?
Reply:The whole point is that they will stop terrorism, I dont know how. But they will. The politicians say so, and they wouldnt lie to us, would they?
Reply:so we can lose our id's