Case Study: A Billion Dollar Boondoggle

If there weren't enough warnings for the proponents of ID cards close to home, perhaps they should look at this Expert Project Management - Case Study: A Billion Dollar Boondoggle
The article discusses the fiasco of the Canadian gun registration scheme. The paragraph that particularly caught my eye is this one:

Aside from monumental fiscal waste, this is ultra-bad law. "It's designed to operate on the law-abiding, without touching the outlaw. People who register their firearms rarely use them for crimes, and people who use their firearms for crimes rarely register them. The law's net effect is to diminish public safety rather than enhance it, first because it consumes financial resources and manpower that could be more usefully employed in other areas of law enforcement, and second because it reduces people's own ability to fight crime."

Very similar arguments could be applied to ID cards. In fact, if ID cards are accepted, they will become a powerful weapon for the criminal, as he will be able to 'prove' his lawful status by presenting his card (forged, stolen, or illicitly acquired) and thus lull the suspicions of his victims.