The future freaking terrifies me, especially how people just roll over and accept it.
Your nightmare scenario is blocked by the fact that just because something is technologically possible, it doesn't mean the police are allowed to do it.
This adult ID card you speak of? What will be the rationale for it existing? haven't national ID cards been pretty much decided to be unconstitutional?
Not an expert but doesn't RFID have a really small range too? All RFID-ish cards I have seem to require being around 50cm to the reader, so if the police drove down my street, they won't be able to get my arcade card info, much less my subway pass (granted they could just get that from the transport company).
On this situation, these cards seemed to be for attendance only. If the cards were replaced by people doing attendance at every door in the school, we'd probably be complaining about the fact that high-tech solutions to this problem exist.
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Every time I see one of these sorts of articles in the US, I wonder what the extremely vocal 2nd Amendment advocates are waiting for. There's never a call to action despite the bluster. It really highlights that they want guns to be unregulated because "I like guns and think they're fun", not because "government needs to fear the public".
How about the police pulling up outside a neighborhood and making everyone get in a line for TSA-like gropes and clone everyone's cellphone because there were some crimes in the area recently (this actually happens now, not entire neighborhoods but select individuals at their whim).
Tell me where you draw the line and how police won't immediately abuse any power they are given? Let me know how you feel after your first encounter with the police someday.
And it looks like it's not just Germany: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4161983.stm
I think part of the problem is that the reasonings in these cases aren't out of this world. So people will think of the whole issue as much less problematic.
Of course you can always just hint that they are acting a bit naziest. Makes them shut up really fast (totally unfair tactic, but it works).
All they have to do is pretend to terry-stop you for any reason and demand ID then. No judge will ever sanction them.
Courts have been plenty willing to overturn arrests in such circumstances. Moreover, while the cops are largely able to get away with that kind of behavior, it is still illegal for them to do so.
Also, I wasn't able to find any evidence of cops being able to detain you in jail for hours on a Terry stop. Can you give a reference?