In message <000201c42322$30a05290$9d3468d5@ntlworld>, ianwelton
<[log in to unmask]> writes
> it was simply that most of the Americans I have met have both
>passports, bank/credit/store/fuel cards and all sorts of ID material
>for differing sectors.
If by "bank card" you mean "debit card", then these are indeed available
- although almost indistinguishable from a credit card. For passports,
it's easy to gather a group of Americans who don't just not-have a
passport, but have never seen one either.
>I had however not limited my reply to the need for alcohol related ID, which
>only appears relevant for a few years during the life of any individual, as
>age soon becomes a simple and apparent visible fact.
Sadly not. People of all ages (even the obviously over 21's) are
required by law to show ID when buying alcohol. Where I live, anyway.
Yesterday, for the first time in a year, a chap at a supermarket asked
me for my birthday (which they have to type in for the till to sell
alcohol) rather than my ID.
>Are you saying that the retailer is not trying to avoid liability by
>insisting employees check ID?
He is complying with the law.
>Or is it that ID checks for alcohol purchases are always necessary as a
>means of avoiding relying upon an employees judgement?
It is possible, but I don't know, that employers lobbied for this law,
in case they got sued by the parents of a dead old-looking 20 year old
who duped one of their assistants into selling him alcohol. Parents *do*
get sued when they "allow" their teenage kids to give alcohol to their
teenage friends and death or injury results.
>I have insufficient experience or knowledge outside of your observations
>within this thread which would enable informed comment.
In this instance I was referring to the transfer of medical records in
the UK GP to GP, Consultant to Consultant). As far as I know it's only
in a UK context that anyone has suggested that an ID card might contain
medical records (and even then I doubt the basis of those reports.)
>By "least advantaged" I meant the majority who gained no advantage from ID
>(White middle aged America?)
They gain the advantage that wrong-doers (eg everyone else) are more
easily caught and prosecuted. Well, that's what they think.
--
Roland Perry
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