Although the Real ID Act which was passed in 2005 was created for the nation’s overall security, there has still been much controversy surrounding it. Essentially, this act changes the way which drivers licenses and state identification cards are issued to people. This means that all citizens should have state ID’s or drivers licenses which can be read electronically. The information on these cards will include the person’s social security number, home address, and other information that is of a personal nature.

The reason that so much controversy surrounds this issue is that there is a tremendous cost that comes along with implementing it. Initially when the act was first proposed, the estimated overall cost for it was a total of $84 million. This would be the cost to transfer every citizen over to this card. Instead of having individual state ID’s, it would be a national card used to efficiently identify legal citizens of the country. Another point of concern is that because of the amount of personal information included on the card, it will give the government too much control.

Though it was originally proposed as a security measure to keep the country safe and more efficiently identify citizens, it has posed many problems for the future. Some American’s are wondering just how effective this act will be once implemented, and also how much it will cost the tax paying citizens of the country. With so many other pressing domestic issues that require a high budget, it is still shrouded in controversy.