getting an ID in PA

     I have read a lot lately on the new law requiring voters to identify themselves at the polls. I thought we already had such a law, as we have always had to identify ourselves in the past.  I read one article this week detailing how difficult it is to obtain an ID in Pennsylvania. The author didn't check the facts, to begin with, about how to obtain a PA State ID--one you can now get even if you don't drive a car. This was supposed to help people who don't drive--with a state-issued ID, they would be able to identify themselves in the same way that anyone with a driver's license can--otherwise they would be relegated to check-cashing services instead of banks, would find it impossible to buy liquor or tobacco, and wouldn't be able to apply for government health programs or other benefits. 
     Not only is it not too difficult to obtain an ID in PA, it's too easy. You don;'need a Social Security card--those do take time to get, or to have replaced, but you were supposed to have one anyway. All you need is a birth certificate and a piece of junk mail. For the purposes of fraud or identity theft, that translates into information on when and where someone was born, and a piece of junk mail addressed to him or her. Getting an ID ought to be much more difficult.