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COUNTY RECORDERS LOOKING TO SELL YOUR IDENTITY DOWN THE RIVER

September 04, 2008

The Des Moines Register reports that the public records website that was posting social security numbers (see yesterday's post) was getting ready to sell the information to a private company. The site is run by the Iowa County Recorders Association, a trade group for holders of one of the more archaic elected offices around. From the report:

The recorders association this year negotiated selling its mammoth database and ongoing updates to Data Tree, a company that manages more than 4 billion records nationwide. Unsigned documents obtained by The Des Moines Register on Wednesday show Data Tree would have paid an estimated $11,750 a month for the information.

I have a better idea: replace the county recorders with a database and a technician. It would save a lot more than $11,750 per month, albeit at the horrendous cost of eliminating a patronage job for county political cronies.

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