An interesting somewhat related blog I stumbled across. I haven't had time to 'vet it' properly yet so if it's full of the most heinous drivel, I beg forgiveness:
Looks like world war II days when everyone had to have a ID to go anywhere or do anything. It's not just your area of the world we here across the pond are getting there fast with our needing a Passport to go anywhere these days
Which brings to mind "green cards," which means-short of the biometrics (soon to be implemented for all of us in the U.S.) we've kind of been doing this all along.