Art B, no I don't carry around my passport, birth certificate, etc. Nor do I want to.

It's not just the hassle -- e.g., having to carry ANYTHING with me when I go for a walk or am a passenger in someone else's car if I don't want to. It's that passports (especially) and even birth certificates are much more problematic if lost or stolen than even driver licenses and credit card are. I want to be able to keep documents like that in a secure place and produce them only when really needed, e.g., international travel, applying for social security, etc.

And the alternative -- a statewide or national ID that contains all your vital statistics and which everyone has to carry at all times -- is just as bad or even worse.