- Ok un-informed tea party types, Free phone service for the poor was started in 1985 although it's just another ongoing service you want to pile on Obama because you don't know any better. Landline service has been provided for low income people since 1985 under the program known as Lifeline. Geez that's under your boy Ronald Reagan's watch. The cell phone idea came about in 2005. (oops still no Obama is there)( and a totally controlled government, by the republicans). It was started in 2008 in that wonderful tax free conservative bastion of the State of Tennessee. And it gets better here's the real kicker, the service is provided by the individual states as part of the welfare program not by Barack Obama and not by the federal government. In fact YOU ,I, everyone with a cell phone pays for it. Look for your Universal Service Fund/fee on your next pay date. And why is this here on every telephone bill in America? It's called the telecommunications Act of 1996. This act made explicit that phone providers had to make universal service available to all citizens at reasonable rates regardless of income regardless of location. It's the phone companies that made the call on free service. This wonderful piece of legislation was of course passed by your own. The senate and the house were both controlled by the republican party in 1996. Thank Mr. Newt Gingrich and Mr. Trent Lott for the service. Hum both southern republicans. I'll start having my poor friends with phones publically thank you all. More right wing myth that Obama invented the free phone. Guess right wing talk really does dumb you down. Can't you guys remember any of your fine ideas from the past, such as the individual mandate on health insurance first proposed by your vaunted Heritage Foundation in 1989.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/legacy/otiahome/top/publicationmedia/newsltr/telcom_act.htm#UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Just for Louman the real truth about the free telephone
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I remember receiving some e-mail several years ago about Obamaphones. At the time I was skeptical so I researched it and found the same information you have here. I lived in Tennessee and was aware that the state participated in that program. The deal was, welfare recipients could get a "free" cell phone with so many minutes preloaded. Once they had used those minutes then they would have to pay for additional time. At the time I recall only a few states were participating, mostly in the South. It's like those TV ads where they say "order now and receive an additional what ever it is absolutely free". All you pay is postage and handling, which is more than the value of the product.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that was years before Obama was elected. No one called them Bush Phones, for some reason.
ReplyDeletePerhaps because of my status as an antique, I find the premise of articles on the subject of "Free something’s" a little disquieting. Are we not living in a period of human history where the people are demanding more and more from government? We demand but we do not offer to contribute for the good of the nation. None of us want to volunteer to pay additional taxes, we bitch whenever a new tax is introduced and at the same time we clamor to receive for free, any thing the government decides to give us.
DeleteIt seems to me that we are perpetuating the “cargo cult” mentality. Generations of children are following their parents into the welfare dependant society because they know nothing else. Governments are trying to find ever increasing amounts to satisfy the demands of supplicants who contribute nothing to the public purse. The time has come, at least in Australia and I suspect also in the United States, where the public purse is no longer able to meet the demands placed on it by so many citizens who are not in a position to contribute.
The free cell phones referred to by Ric. is only one example of governments allowing the quest for popularity to outweigh the need for such a program. Those of us old enough to remember WW2, have all been sent by our parents to the public phone in the village or the small town in which we lived to call the doctor or ambulance service in some real or imagined emergency. This is the worst case scenario but the point I make is that a little effort expended by those needing to make a call would save a pile of public money. Remember too, the dollar you earn yourself, through your own efforts, is harder to waste than the dollar given you by the government.
Cheers from Aussie
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DeleteKing I don't particularly like the deal either. But here in America they are known as Obama phones. Just another way to bash our current president. Fact of the matter is Obama has nothing to do with it. It has been a program in America for nearly 30 years. We heard very little about it until the advent of the cell phone. There are now ads on TV for the phones. I just want certain obamaphonics to know the real truth behind this program be it good or bad. Damn I wish we could edit a comment without deleting and reposting it.
DeleteWhy do you think the Tea Party came about? Both parties elites spending out their ass.
DeleteWhy the hell do you think we don't, and won't, support Jeb Bush.
Act more reasonably and you might gain members.
DeleteA republican by any other name is still a republican. If it smells like shit it probably is. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Get the picture.
DeleteI'm an extremist ric, remember?
DeleteOr was that terrorist?
DeleteHow long before some dumbass comes up with the term Obamdoms for the free condoms that we will all be forced to pay for so slackers can have carefree sex at the expense of hard working Americans?
ReplyDeleteHey Max what's up. How's school? Yep they will be called that even if he's been outta office for 20 years it will all be his fault. I really can't wait until a repub is president so when things go wrong they can blame Obama which they will for years. But oh my Max don't look into the past for any reasons for our current predicament. So says Lou anyway. It all started on Jan 20th 2009 right?
DeleteHey Rick,
DeleteSchool is busy, but I'm doing well so far. Three more weeks of the current semester and two finals and then I'm done with these two tough classes. For the rest of the year, it will be a new class every eight weeks with no breaks until December. Hopefully I will have a skill I can use to move out of the country when it all comes flying apart and Hillary launches the black helicopters to herd us into the reeducation camps.
All in all, things are well.
I dunno I think William and his merry band of Robin Hoods are going to beat her to it.
Delete