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Just FYI - outside of the US bubble - an identity card is standard in most countries.
The most common identity document in the US is the state identification card ("State ID"), which also doubles as a driving license for those licensed to drive. Pretty much everyone has a State ID. While a State ID card is valid proof of identity, it isn't proof of citizenship because the Department of Motor Vehicles will issue one to anyone, even those without legal immigration status. They did not previously ask about immigration status when you are applying for one (that changed fairly recently to comply with the "Real ID" standards for the newest generation of cards), and old cards are typically good for 10 years.
The passport card is uncommon because the State ID is sufficient for most purposes, didn't (used to) require burdensome proof of citizenship to apply for, and could be easily obtained from any DMV office. And if you have a car, which is most Americans, you need a driving license which is a State ID anyway.
Well I didn't know about that before, so thank you for the information :)
Your system sounds a bit complex when compared to the German one. For comparison here in Germany we basically have 3 important documents:
So if you're an immigrant/not a citizen you basically can't have an ID card or passport and get a temporary residence card instead.
Your system does sound more straightforward.
Unfortunately various groups have historically opposed changes to make it simplier in the us ( some for dumb reasons some for valid reasons).
The main issue is almost all our documents are effectively voluntary...
Birth certificate is the one you're most likely to have, managed by the state (people who don't give birth in hospitals sometimes skip this, which makes everything harder in life)
The parents should also file for a federal social security card using the birth certificate, but again some people skip this and it makes their kids lives hard.
Most people who can drive will get a state issued drivers license at 16, the most recent standard has a label to identify if you are a citizen or not (proven by showing your birth certificate or social security card when getting the id)
All male citizens are required to register with the government at 18 for the draft, but I don't recall getting any id from it - but mentioning it as the only time I think citizens are required to do something for the feds because they are citizens, the other mandatory federal item is paying taxes, but residents also pay taxes.
If you want to vote you register with the city / county, prove citizenship to them, and get issued a voter id, and about half the country doesn't do this.
I don't know the exact percent, but most Americans don't have a passport. Traveling between States is cheaper than internationally, and within a half day or day long flight you can reach whatever vacation activity you'd want.
There are a bunch of less common id cards granted by state governments, such as weapon carry ids, hunting permits, a dedicated state id card, etc. But these aren't standardized and not every state accepts other state ids fully (in particular the weapon permits are often not accepted). And a common issue comes up when voting laws require id because the politicians often will choose ids that their voters already have and hope enough opposition doesn't get that form by the election to make the election easier (North Carolina Republican party lost a lawsuit recently because there were emails where they specifically asked which ids their voters were more likely to have then tried to make only those the accepted ids).
In practice the federal government uses the social security number as a federal id, but it's a terrible bad idea that has caused many issues and we passed a law requiring government agencies stop doing it
I wish it was simplier, but most people don't care and any discussion of changing it has people panic that their id won't be valid for an upgrade, fearing they would have to spend a frustrating amount of time and money finding or replacing their original birth certificate in order to get a federal id or deal with a slow process (I've known people who had to wait in line multiple work days to get state ids issued, although that was rare, I only stood in line 2 hours).
Probably more information than you wanted, but it's complex and I just kept going lol
Yeah you know the system's fucked when even a German is calling it complicated.
It's easy to explain when I phrase it like this:
Edit: In America, all three documents are technically optional. While you could choose to never apply for a State ID or passport book/card, or never renew your documents when they expire, and it wouldn't technically be illegal, you would find it difficult to go through your daily life because you wouldn't be able to do anything like get a job, open a bank account, buy train/plane tickets, get insurance, or register/drive a car without some form of ID.