My 2 Second Shelf Life

"A day or two after my daughter was born, a girl walked into our recovery room with a folder of papers and brochures. There were all kinds of release forms and medical advice and, of course, the birth certificate application. I had a pretty good idea which forms were required for our insurance. We filled those out, leaving off everything but the barest minimum required information. Then we got to the birth certificate, with the incongruous SSN checkbox stuck into a corner at the bottom of the second page. I left it blank, of course. I suspected what was going to happen, and when the hospital admin returned the forms to us to put our final signatures on, someone had very considerately checked the box for us."

I confess that I don't get most anti-establishment activists.
To be honest, when I read the "column" all I could think about was how self-righteously contrary he sounds. As though he enjoys the "funny look" that comes across any Admin persons face with whom he refuses to comply.

I don't know why you'd have to get the number at birth in the States, but I know that a SIN number in Canada proves that you exist in the working world, and you don't get one until you need to...at least I didn't.

“It’s her choice,” I said, turning my head to my newborn.

“Social Security is voluntary. It’s a contract. She’s not old enough to understand it or make an informed decision. So, we believe it’s a decision that should be left to her. She can always sign up when she’s older, and knows what she’s getting into.”

...and that's true.
I'll never understand why Administrative peons are so invested in the whacked out decisions of the general public.

So that’s it. My daughter is not a number. It will be her choice to enter the system if she wants. If she chooses, she can be self-employed and never pay income tax. She can keep the fruits of her labors for herself, or she can sign up for the social trough when and if she thinks it is appropriate. She will be educated on what it entails and how it works. She may have to learn to drive without a driver’s license. She may have to learn to save for health expenses. She may have a more difficult life than many people, but she will have an opportunity of freedom that most people in America never receive. I can’t make her take it. I can’t make her embrace the difficult life of freedom in America . But I can give her the chance.

Is there such a thing as being self-employed and not paying taxes?
Learning to drive without a permit or license on the road with the rest of us?
The ones with insurance?

The last two lines kill me.
Laugh.
I thought I'd die.