December 18, 2007 10:44AM # Virginia’s National ID Tax By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE The *Washington Post* had a [story yesterday](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601754.html) on whether Virginia would implement the REAL ID Act, the national ID law that has been [rejected by other states](http://www.realnightmare.org/news/105) across the country. They object to its formidable costs, bureaucratic burdens, insoluble privacy problems, and [ineffectiveness as a security tool](https://www.cato.org/2007/02/14/some-sensible-thoughts-on-the-real-id-act/). Why might Virginia go along? > “The vast majority of 9/11 terrorists used Virginia licenses,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said. “I think that’s why you haven’t seen as much of a push back.” It’s the hairshirt theory of policymaking — never mind whether making the driver’s license into a national ID will add to our protections. Noting the governor’s proposal for a $10 increase in the fee to renew a Virginia driver’s license, the *Roanoke Times* [editorializes today](http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/143868) with a little more clarity: > Americans should not have to wait weeks for a driver’s license. They should not have to worry about a massive database tracking their every move. They should not have some wannabe national ID card sloughed onto states. If you think a national ID tax and all this nonsense somehow adds to the country’s protections, then, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).