So I just got done watching the final episode of Season 4 from The Rockford Files.  It was a two-part episode that dealt with a shady computer company trying to – get this – setup a database that kept the private financial and criminal records of 200 million Americans.  Those dastardly businessmen had a computer file that would show your bank balance, your credit limits, your criminal history, property you own, and your credit ratings.  Thankfully, Jim Rockford was able to shut them down, in part because they also happened to commit a murder.  I can’t imagine what privacy used to be like.  I recently had the opportunity to use a new service from Westlaw for locating people.  I ran myself, and it showed virtually everything about me that the evil computer company in Rockford tracked.  And I know that lots more is available to people with the right computer access.

Was there really a time when Americans cared so much about their privacy that you could make a TV show where the bad guy was basically the CEO of Equifax/Experian/etc.?  I mean, the bad guy had to commit the murder to protect this secret database that was being built in a missile silo so no one would know it existed.  Today, a CEO wanting to build a database like that would be welcomed with open arms and tax breaks for creating new jobs and providing useful analysis tools to the financial sector.

I think I’ve written about it before, but I have an unrealistic dream.  One day, I hope to be financially self-sufficient such that I have no need for credit in any form.  Then, I hope to sue the major credit reporting agencies for violating federal law (which they do fairly often) with regard to my credit history.  Instead of collecting money, I want to enter into a settlement with them in which they agree to never carry any information about me whatsoever.  On a scale of one to ten, I wonder just how unrealistic that is.  I  bet a seven.

Food for thought on the day before our Independence Day.