Well, yeah... of course.
> The CRAs profit from the profligate dissemination of sensitive data,
Everyone profits. The CRAs who are the aggregators, the companies that share the information, and the consumers who get access to cheap and easy credit.
Victims of identity theft exist. Even if you are content to sacrifice them for the greater good, they are real people.
All I'm saying is that the system we have now provides a great many benefits to people, and that we should look at how to fix it, rather than eliminate it. The CRAs are just 3 companies, out of the thousands that have had data stolen over the years, and will continue to do so forever, because it is impossible to have perfect security.
People have cars. Sometimes they get stolen. Should we eliminate cars, so that we can eliminate car theft?
Counting on Equifax to solve this problem is absurd. Equifax doesn't care about individual consumers because those consumers are not their customers. Combating identity theft is a cost center; CRAs cannot differentiate themselves in the marketplace through better tools to prevent an externality.
Consumers have to fight for their own interests because the CRAs will only be dragged along kicking and screaming.