Security breaches are now commonplace for many Americans. There are hundreds of documented cases of breaches from healthcare companies (ex: Excellus) to retail stores (ex: Target). When a breach occurs, and the company acknowledges its mistake, they will offer anywhere from 1 to 3 years of credit monitoring. It stands to reason that those individuals who acquire the stolen information can simply sit on the data for the same length of time before using or selling it.
The US government should create a system or provide funding for an existing system to allow all Americans the ability to monitor their credit and mitigate identity theft.
A simple "first step" initiative could simply allow for a tax credit for individuals who purchase credit monitoring up to a set maximum amount.