NY Times praises NYC ID card that anyone can get, then claims it's got "rigorous" anti-fraud measures

Almost every day brings yet another proof that the editors of the NY Times are anti-American idiots.

The latest is an editorial titled "New York's ID card deserves respect."  Highlights:

More than 700,000 residents have received [one of the city's ID cards] since the program began last January.

 And I'm sure not one was an illegal alien.   Certainly the Times doesn't raise a single concern about this.  Because...?

With the card as government-issued photo identification they can open bank accounts, enter schools and other government buildings....[get] free memberships to museums, concert halls and other cultural institutions, and entertainment and pharmacy discounts...

[These benefits] have made it appealing to a wide swath of New Yorkers, rich, poor and in between.

Yes, dahlink, I'm sure all the folks in the middle class rushed right out to get one of these gems, probably for the drug discounts.  "Rich, poor and in between."  Yes, certainly.

But there is one troubling hitch.  Several of the city’s biggest banks...refuse to accept the card as a primary form of identification. They either demand another form of government ID, like a driver’s license, from someone seeking to open an account or cash a check — or they refuse to accept the NYC card at all.

Their unwillingness, presumably prompted by concerns about fraud, is outrageous. Federal regulators have already declared that the NYC card may be used to verify a customer’s identity, and many smaller banks and credit unions accept the card without hesitation, as does the New York City Police Department.

Wow, the NYPD accepts the card shoved down its throat by the socialist mayor?  What a surprise!

The card’s documentation requirements and fraud-prevention features are rigorous.

Horseshit--as you could have guessed.  Clicking on this link takes you to the NYC.gov page that specifies the allegedly-rigorous requirements to prevent fraud.  The first few may look rigorous, but as always the ridiculous loopholes are at or near the bottom of the list.  Short answer:  Anyone with a pulse who wants one can get one.

What good reasons could there be for the city’s major banks to resist IDNYC?  Could it be that those who need to use it as a primary ID card, including undocumented immigrants, might have lower incomes, hence lower bank balances, and thus present less of an opportunity to be squeezed for fees and charges?

Classic leftist "journalism":  "Could it be that..." JFK was killed by evil Republicans provided with a cloaking device by aliens from the planet Zargon???"   If you want to plant a seed and not get sued, there's no better way than "Could it be that...," followed by a charge without a shred of evidence.  It gets the Left fired up every time.

Is it really overriding worry about identity theft and money-laundering, or is it more the force of habit in an industry that has long shunned poor neighborhoods and customers?

Maybe. But those are bad reasons, not good ones.  Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer should press the reluctant banks [to justify] why they would make it harder for thousands of potential customers to gain an economic foothold. As Mr. Stringer has noted, an estimated 825,000 adults in New York City lack even a basic checking account. That this capital city of banks and bankers should have so many residents without access to simple, affordable banking services — even those who have valid, government-issued ID cards like IDNYC — is deplorable.  Typical, given the long history of banking discrimination against minorities and the poor — but still deplorable.

IDNYC is one of the de Blasio administration’s strongest achievements, a clear example of follow-through on a promise to make practical improvements in people’s daily lives. Anything that needlessly limits its usefulness — and access to banking is a crucial part of the card’s great potential — should be resisted.  IDNYC is so much more than just a discount card for museums and movies. It could be an economic lifeline for countless New Yorkers — if only more banks would do their part.

A version of this editorial appeared in print on December 29, 2015, on page A18 of the New York edition.

Ah yes, a handful of banks insisting that illegal aliens wanting to open bank accounts show more than just NYC's ridiculously-easy-to-get ID card is proof of discrimination.  Of course the banks' reluctance *could* be due to being fined hundreds of millions by federal regulators for allowing illegals to open accounts to launder drug money a decade ago.  But let's not mention that, Times propagandists, because your version is Sooo much more useful!