But they will raise business transaction costs. The nearly perfect anonymity privacy groups seem to want is not really free. As the Federal Reserve Board has long noted, information is the lifeblood of a market economy. Credit and debit card systems depend on sharing identifiable information about people. Without it, fraud and bankruptcies would force up rates or increase fees to a point many people would be denied credit.
Information sharing allows the tailoring of marketing information to meet individual preferences.
It permits businesses to develop new products at less cost. All of that benefits consumers. And while polls show many Americans are concerned about their personal privacy, they also reveal they are willing to give up some of it to get things they want over the Net and elsewhere. When they have the tools to protect themselves and are under no compulsion to divulge information, other than in exchange for something else, privacy really is a matter of preference. As Armey noted, Congress is an inexperienced and amateur mechanic trying to tinker with the supercharged, high-tech engine of our economy.