Better lock it up

Americans: WE DON’T WANT ID! IT GIVES THE GOVERNMENT TOO MUCH POWER!!
Also Americans:
- Don't get it twisted, we don't want to have to use the stupid social security card as ID, either. As a matter of fact, if you have one that's old enough it says "For Social Security and Tax Purposes -- Not For Identification" right on it.
  ...But every organization in the country, including the government, now uses your SSN and SSN card as a form of identification anyway, and will randomly demand to see the card itself as "proof."
  
  Canada went the opposite direction - it is now impossible to get an SIN (SSN equivalent), and if you forget it, you have to go to a government office for them to print out a sheet on standard letter sized paper that clearly states to memorise and destroy it.
  
  Logic doesn’t matter here. The guy you’re responding to just wants to grab at low hanging fruit as a “zing” to Americans.
  Come on you can do better.
- Yeah but a lot of those americans who don't want a simple national ID system are idiots. Some of them are delusional "it's a sign of the beast!!!" people who should be put in a camp.
  
  ...And possibly appropriately, those types of people will take your national ID system precisely as the overture to putting them in said camp in the first place.
  For the record I'm not against a universal ID, but given that your de facto ID is your driver's license and that's explicitly handled by the states anyhow, I find any actual implementation unlikely.
  Furthermore, you can also get a US passport card which acts as a government backed nationwide ID already.

My mom laminated both mine and my sister‘s card back in the 80s and we’ve never had any issues with it at all. I opened my first bank account after high school the bank teller lady looked at it and said “wow that is clever!”
- My old card was laminated, that and a birth certificate. Dmv refused to take either because of the lamination.
  
  Does the lamination make it impossible to see the watermarks? Because that seems like a legit reason to reject them. Even if the system is flawed with this restriction 🙈
  
  Been there, done that (not American, similar scenario, different card). I felt the person at the counter wasn't in mood and was trying to make my day worse. Just saying "You legally have to" and if not they won't budget, "I would like to speak with your superior".

And is also required to be sent to Banks and other organizations that are historically terrible at cybersecurity.

Yes, actually, you should lock it up in a safe deposit box or a fire safe.
- And it can be protected by a card sleeve like people use for trading/sports cards, this way it's not a permanent protection.
- Learn from my mistake: fire safes can become humid mold machines. Air them out occasionally and use dessicants. I lost a passport that way. It made my throat close up to just handle it.
  
  Well, I don't tend to keep my paperwork moist.
  Maybe don't put tacos in there next time

My understanding is that it's printed on such flimsy paper as a sort of identity loss protection. If you lose it somewhere it'll degrade quickly to the point it's unusable, hopefully before someone else tries to use it. The downside is, of course, that if you don't protect it with supreme care, it will also degrade to the point it's unusable.

I've had mine stored safely in an old wallet in a random drawer somewhere in my house for... My entire life at this point.
- I have only once ever had to present my card. Sits in a bankers box in storage somewhere, I think?

You've made a classic blunder, OP. I have your name and social security number now!

My mom laminated mine. Never had an issue.
- Maybe it was cold lamination? Honestly I didn't know you couldn't laminate a social security card.
  
  You can't, but since you (almost) never need the physical card, you could go a long time without anyone caring. It's possible that if some government agency needs to see it, they may get grumpy and not accept a laminated card. I know it's happened to some people with my employer.
  
  Yeah, I think it is cold. Basically two clear stickers you carefully apply then cut it out.
- The reason given is that it might interfere with the "security features". Honestly, if you use a matte, high quality lamination pouch, it will most likely work just fine and you won't ever have issues.
  
  It has security features? It looks like it would be better suited for saying Admit One to the local county fair
  
  heh, mine was done in probably 1987 with a shiny, poor-quality one :)

I keep mine in a plastic sandwich bag

I think my Dad has mine filed in a drawer somewhere. I've literally never once used the actual card.
- New York State requires you to present the actual card to get a license (at least in some circumstances). It was a whole ordeal for me.
- You ever had a job? Every job I've had wanted to photocopy the original card along with my ID
  
  I've never had a job ask for it. The most they've asked for is two forms of id and I used drivers license and passport.
  
  I've never had to present my SS card or a photocopy of it for any job. They of course ask for my SSN as they legitimately need it, but that's it.

Your SS card is a joke. You can flush it down the toilet. If you need a new one it’s like a 5 minute visit.
- Uh... Americans have a lifetime maximum number of reprints.
  
  What are you doing that requires you to replace your card more than 10 times?

I've had the same leather wallet for like 14 years and the card fits so perfectly in the little card holder without any bending or tearing. I don't recommend it for people who drink or ride motorcycles, but for my purposes it might as well outlive me.
- Yeah, I don't think carrying around a social security card is the best idea
  
  In fact, for cards printed 2002 and up it literally says "do not carry with you" right on it.
- You absolutely should not carry your social security card with you. Your social security number, name and address, is pretty much all it takes to take out a loan in your name. You lose your wallet, you are absolutely fucked.
  
  Don't lose your wallet, then. 14 years has been a pretty good run for me so far.
  If you don't regularly have any use for it, then that's understandable to store it away somewhere safe, perhaps even in a leather wallet hidden away to prevent folding, water damage, etc.
- I also had the same wallet (also holding my social security card) for approximately fifteen years. It was a replica of a classic NES controller; I paid $15 for it at a GameStop probably seventeen years ago. I had it for so long and got so many comments and compliments about it that it became sentimental for me.
  I replaced it with a slim, RFID blocking wallet once the old one started to physically degrade (I was impressed it lasted so long), but it still resides on a wallet display stand on my mantle. I didn't even know wallet display stands were a thing until I decided to preserve this one.

You can get a replacement card pretty easily. You just can't get a replacement too many times (I think its 4 or 5) before they become annoying about it.
- I looked it up, recently; supposedly only 3 replacement requests in a year and only allowed 10 in your entire lifetime.
  
  What happens if you use up all 10? They kick you out?
  
  There you go, that was it! My brain landed somewhere in the middle.
  Just replaced mine not that long ago (it had basically fallen apart in the folder it was in).
- Now you need to show up in person to an office, and depending on where you are and how many staff got cut that can be difficult.
  
  You can still do it online.

Just put it in a baseball/pokemon card case. Easy enough to get out.

Social security numbers should be PGP public keys. The government can host a key server, and that way anyone can generate, upload, or change keys easily.
Plus, it would mean everyone has to learn how to use pgp crypto, which would mean we might actually be able to make the web of trust a reality. 🙂
- and then the next carrington event happens and everyone is FUCKED
  
  When that happens, our social security cards are going to be the least of our concerns.

It took me 45 mins at the social security office to get a new one. It ain't that serious
- Do it without an id or address. You can't get an id without an address and you can't get the card without your id or birth certificate which you also need an id and address. You can't get a job without an ss number. So if you don't at least know your number, then you're fucked.
  Hardmode: you don't know where you were born
  Impossibe: you don't know your legal name.
- :pinches bridge of nose:
  I'm reminded of talking with bright eyed product guys at work.
  It's not enough to cover the happy path. You have to consider all the edge and corner cases, too. Sometimes people don't have all the documents they "need" to get a new card. Every hoop you jump through takes a toll, emotionally and in opportunity costs.

I can't remember the last time I had to show my card. Usually things have multiple options. Like I9 forms take the social security card, birth certificate, List C docs on https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents
Or places will cross reference with the IRS for certain loans instead of seeing the card since the number is needed and verified through that.
If you memorize your number or at least the last 4 digits, you don't need to reference it either.
Hopefully things have moved on from the 90s when my state university used it as our student ID number and printed it on the front beside our picture. So we had to show it to people a lot.