Читать книгу THE LIFEBOAT STRATEGY - Mark Nestmann - Страница 19

Wealthy people can afford to place legal and financial obstacles in the path of any would-be privacy invader. They can place their assets in offshore entities and do business through corporate vehicles that shield their identity. If they choose to do so, they can live as expatriates in countries that have less developed surveillance infrastructures. By leaving bookkeeping details to trusted attorneys, they can live practically anonymous lives.

The poor also lead relatively private lives, especially if they refuse government assistance. Undocumented immigrants and homeless street persons aren’t likely to file income tax returns or show up on Facebook. Their lives may be a desperate battle against privation and despair. But it’s a more private existence than most middle-class residents of the United States have.

Most likely, you fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Your public image resides in thousands of government and corporate databases. Credit bureaus, banks, tax authorities, administrators of social benefit programs, educational institutions, and perhaps the military and criminal justice system all contain snapshots of your life. Tracking begins while you’re still in the womb, and continues until well after your death.