One day after the Senate voted thumbs down, AG Andrew Cuomo announced today that he will defend the Spitzer licensing program in court because he thinks it's legal. That was no big surprise, but there was a little question about a statute that requires the DMV to collect Social Security numbers. Cuomo seems to be reading it as non-mandatory.
For those willing to let a few facts get in the way of their emotions, this Newsday story makes a good read. It reports a mixed bag on the central claims made by Spitzer: The two other states that have tried what Spitzer proposes have both seen their percentages of uninsured drivers drop, but only one has seen traffic fatalities drop.
It also reports that NY already has lower traffic fatality rates and uninsured driver rates than the six states that haven't required SS numbers for some time. And it reports that in the years since NY started requiring SS numbers, fatality rates and uninsured driver rates haven't really changed much, up or down.
All of which ends up leaving a kind of unconvincing case for the dramatic benefits Spitzer claims, which provides a good counterpoint to the unconvincing case opponents have made that drivers licenses for illegals somehow equal terrorism.
Want a compromise? Read this piece, suggesting licenses that denote undocumented status so they can't be used to access other benefits to which undocumented immigrants may not be entitled.
Comments (1)
Doesn't matter what the liberals spin, most Democrats and Republicans and people of all backgrounds do not want illegal aliens to get driver licenses.
If those politicians go through with this watch the Democrats lose big time. I speak as an unaffiliated voter who will never vote for a local Democrat again if this happens. Maybe thats why Spitzer wants illegals to drive so he can have them vote next time around which would be his only chance for winning if he's around that long.