You absolutely cannot get a bank account without an ID either: KYC is a thing.
Finally, you must complete an I9 form for any new job, which requires (wait for it) an ID.
And yet, I have multiple accounts. Go figure.
> How did you rent an apartment without ID?
I dunno. The paperwork was done like a bit more than fifteen years ago. But I've only been asked for my ID for apartment-related things once and that was to tour a place in a shitty, shitty apartment complex more than... twenty years ago.
> ...you must complete an I9 form for any new job, which requires (wait for it) an ID.
I'm pretty sure that all I've ever been asked for is name and SSN. Again, maybe this stuff is new as of the past ten, twenty years. Strong, strong anti-immigrant sentiment has a way of gripping people's hearts and making them do stupid shit.
That doesn't mean your past employers were in full compliance, nor that they will ever get caught.
No, it doesn't. The only experience I have that's that old is apartment renting and job acquisition.
And I guarantee you that
1) I can still get a job without ever presenting a photo ID. (Look closely at the I-9 acceptable documents lists B and C.)
2) I can get a reasonable apartment without presenting ID or submitting to a background check by committing to paying the first year's and every subsequent year's rent in advance.