Posted on 02/09/2012 6:46:26 AM PST by C19fan
Last year, a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million wireless accounts. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills. But observers complain that the program suffers from poor oversight, in which phones go to people who don't qualify, and hundreds of thousands of those who do qualify have more than one phone.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Pisses me off. With our family plan, we are being sacked at $175 a month ...of course, tho, we have a couple of I-phones.
Are the moochers receiving basic models, or souped up smart phones?
I guess if you could get a phone for free, that’s $150 you can spend gettin’ your “hair did” for the month.
I read the headline only, and wondered how many posts before a FReeper would bring up the truth about WHO really is paying those cell phone bills.
You are right on the mark. WE the taxpayers are being ripped off by government in D.C. to pay for those cell phones, which in turn is just another angle to promote the donations, and votes to, and for the Democrat Party.
Again we are being ripped off to pay for our own demise. It’s the Democrat way.
I bet they do get data, already set up with Tweets and instant messages from the Obama administration.
bump
Many of those ‘advocates’ get a cut. They work for agencies and “NGO’s” that help administer these programs. Useless, pointless bureaucracies. IMO.
Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House when this legislation was approved of and signed into law. Thanks, Newt!
In my town we have LOTS of people in the homeless population with cell phones paid for by the taxpayers.
I heard it directly referred to as “Obama Phones” by them.
I remember seeing an ad on the internet and one of the models available was a touch screen. Not sure if it was a smartphone exactly, but it blew me away seeing it.
I highly doubt that AT & T and Verizon need Federal support, this is a giveaway to the poor for votes - plain & simple.
Title should read, “Taxpayers are funding cellphones for millions”
Ain’t nobody in Idaho know nuffin’ about this.
“Not sure if it was a smartphone exactly, but it blew me away seeing it.”
My phone, which I paid for, has a touch screen but is not a smart phone.
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