Or how the the administration is out to make life so much harder and costly than it needs to be.

It’s all the little things that add up to be a big waste of money and time. I finally got my passport renewed and it ONLY took almost six months. I tried to track it but all I got was an automatic email reply saying it was being processed (the 800 number didn’t connect to a user friendly menu or a live person). I have a friend who missed a trip to Europe with her husband because her passport didn’t arrive in time. She had sent in the renewal with more than five months lead time.

In the further travails of a typical homemaker, I tried to open a new joint bank account this week. The current bank does not have convenient locations or hours so I thought I’ll just go to a bank that has decent lobby hours and is closer. I was informed by the smarmy bank manager that I need TWO pieces of ID and it couldn’t be a birth certificate and if I wanted to open a joint account, my husband had to be there in person with his two ID’s. This is just ridiculous and I want to know how this makes the country more secure. When I rolled my eyes he said it was because of 9/11 and it was necessary to keep us safe. I informed him that no, it was because of the Bush Administration and it had nothing to do with keeping the American public safe from terrorists. He disagreed and then said he was not allowed to discuss politics (oh, but he was). I retorted that I was allowed to discuss politics and the whole thing smacks of a banana republic dictatorship.

My husband opened bank accounts last Fall and I opened one for my daughter in May and did not have to jump through these hoops. What do people do who do not have passports or driver’s licenses? Are they going to ask for finger prints next?

I understand why I must produce my SS number for a bank account. I can understand controls on large sums of money being transferred especially internationally. I just wanted to open a regular checking and small savings account. The Patriot Act does nothing to make the U.S. more secure. It does allow the federal government to track and spy on American citizens. Is this the kind of country we want for our children?

Has any economist calculated the cost of all the provisions in the Patriot Act? No passport, no airline ticket purchase. Not willing to jump through hoops to transfer banks, loss of new accounts to the bank. The cost of getting through airport security and the time it takes. These are small inconveniences but they add up. I have the ability to navigate these obstacles but do the poor and the elderly have the same ability to cope with the consequences of this unconstitutional Act?