I came across a couple interesting quotes in recent articles about the REAL ID Act, so let me jump on the bandwagon make some predictions. The REAL ID Act is bound to make the line at your friendly, neighborhood Department of Motor Vehicles (or Secretary of State) even longer. This is due to the fact that applicants will have to be checked and cross-checked and re-checked through various federal databases. Until the transition is complete, expect longer lines at airports where overworked NSA staffers with contribute to the problem of making everyone else’s life hell by monitoring the holes in our socks and confiscating our bottled water, while simultaneously neglecting to notice the lighter or knife that I’ve inadvertently taken on more than one cross-country flight. The inconvenience is only the beginning — the REAL ID really may be the thin end of the wedge, opening the door for even further government control and scrutiny.

Without a REAL ID, airline passengers will have to use a passport or other federal ID, otherwise they’ll face a “vigorous, secondary screening process.” Secretary of the DHS, Michael Chertoff is either delusional, or drunk with power:

The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can’t get one. But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress.

Sure! Everyone would “love” to have a shiny new Federal ID card. That is awfully presumptuous. Apparently Chertoff has no qualms about punishing people who don’t want one.

Unfortunately, many of the States which have opposed the REAL ID Act have argued that it’s simply to expensive.

“No problem!” said the Feds, who proceeded to reduce the expected compliance costs by 73% — as if $4 Billion isn’t still an awful lot of money.

“It costs too much” isn’t a very strong objection, which tells me that there’s not very much disagreement between the State and Federal lawmakers, despite rhetoric to the contrary.