The United States is one of the few countries in the world to not issue National Photo Identification Cards.  Many other countries have found it useful to issue a photo ID card to their citizens, which are used for a wide variety of purposes: boarding airplanes, accessing government services, or verifying identity.  In the United States, Social Security cards have been issued since the 1930s.  But they were never designed to serve as a national ID card, and they do not have the security built into them to be able to serve as a secure form of identification.

Photos could be added to the social security card, and they could be made more secure.  However, the United States has systematically rejected the idea of a national ID card, for a wide range of reasons including concerns over privacy and government oversight.  The need for a secure ID has fallen on the States, and the most common ID by far is the state-issued Drivers License.  These typically do have a photo, and provide some degree of assurance about the identify of the holder.  But they cannot replace a true national ID card.