Credit bureaus are a major industry. Not just lenders, employers and dating services use them. Building credit establishes your identity and value in Western society by how responsible we are with money. If we make Bitcoin like cash, how will we establish a solid reputation? How will you know who you can trust?
I've been wondering this myself..
simple solution.. we need a bitcoin rating agency.. based not on social security number / address / name /whatever the current CBR's use.. but instead we need to be rated on public addresses.
Imagine, you could build up an absolutely stellar credit rating, and still remain mostly anonymous.
Sigg