Posted on 06/25/2012 8:24:26 AM PDT by daniel1212
What exactly is the free Obama phone? The free Obama phone is a program that is meant to help the financially unstable who cannot afford access to a cell phone. Communication should not be limited to people in relation to what they are able to afford. The Lifeline program was actually created decades ago to help low income families have access to land lines. Over the years the cost of cell phones and cellular service has decreased and the program has been extended to cover cell phones.
During the Bush administration, there was the introduction of a project that gave subsidies to those who could not afford a phone. The basic principle of the program is that everyone should have access to emergency services like 911. There are a number of deaths that take place every year do to lack of proper communication, and access to emergency services should be a right for everyone.
The free Obama phone is an important program, especially for low income families that would otherwise not have access to basic communications. There are different plans to choose from. Some plans offer fewer minutes and more texting and some even include rollover minutes. Make sure you check out all the plans before choosing the one that is right for you.
Click Here to learn how to qualify. If you have further questions about the Obama Phone, visit our Obama Phone FAQ.
There is a contact box http://obamaphone.net/contact, in which i wrote,
Why are you using the money I and all other phone users pay into the USF to promote a man who wastes money and to essentially fund President Obama's reelection?
As regards "communication should not be limited to people in relation to what they are able to afford," that could be extended to everything, by forcing those who earn money to provide the same standard of living to those who will not, and which takes the place of personal charity, which fosters accountability.
And while the privileged have a moral responsibility to show mercy and voluntarily help true victims, this is not to be forced.
It is evil enough that you promote the welfare victim-entitlement mentality, which is from Hell, (Is. 14) that teaches that all who have and less power or a lower position or standard of living are "victims" of those who earn position and money, etc., and that all who will not work deserve what comes by actually earning recompense, but now you use the money of those who pay for phone service to promote the most prominent ideologue behind the fantasy of his welfare state. Not on his cost however. And yet i do pray for him.
I am surprised that you even mentioned George Bush as introducing a subsidized phone project, but he did not promote such like this welfare president, and he certainly did not call it by his name.
And paradoxically, the only way you provide to contact you is this combox!
Therefore i am insisting that you at least stop calling it "the ObamaPhone, and until you do, i request an exemption from paying the USF, and a real phone number that i can talk to a real person about this misuse of public funds.
Thanks, and may you turn to Christ from sin, and follow Him, who provided salvation (for the contrite believers who take responsibility for their sins), on His own cost and merit, and who rewards those who obey Him.
Now my comment is "awaiting moderation."
The http://obamaphone.net/who-pays-for-the-obama-phone page misleadingly states,
Lifeline is a government sponsored program, but who is paying for it. Some people claim that the government is using taxpayer’s money to run this program, however, the claim is false.
For in fact, it is the same things, that of taking a "tax" on phone service, Universal Service Fund (USF), to pay for the ObamaPhone.
And the people who can qualify is tremendous. As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits. The Census data show that 16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security and 15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare. There is likely a lot of overlap. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/26/number-of-the-week-half-of-u-s-lives-in-household-getting-benefits/
During February 2010, 1 in 8 Americans were enrolled for food stamps, an increase of 260,000. Since reaching 31.78 million in December 2008, enrollment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has set a record each month. USDA estimates enrollment for fiscal year 2010, which ends Sept 30, is expected to average 40.5 million people, at a cost of up to $59 billion. Average enrollment for fiscal 2011 is predicted to be 43.3 million people. Reuters, “Food-stamp tally nears 40 million, sets record,” May 7, 2010
The USDA dedicated $5 million in 2011 to “improve access to and increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] .” http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/04/usda-spends-5-mil-to-recruit-food-stamp-recipients/
The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that 45 million people in 2011 received SNAP benefits, a 70% increase from 2007. The CBO projected that one in seven U.S. residents received food stamps last year. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/04/19/food-stamp-rolls-to-grow-through-2014-cbo-says/?mod=e2tw
2012. Around 5.3 percent of the population between the ages of 25 and 64 is currently collecting federal disability payments, a jump from 4.5 percent since the economy slid into a recession. Mental-illness claims, in particular, are surging. During the recent economic boom, only 33 percent of applicants were claiming mental illness, but that figure has jumped to 43 percent, says Rutledge, citing preliminary results from his latest research. NY. Post., Jobless disability claims soar to record $200B as of January, February 19, 2012,
In just the first four months of 2012, 539,000 joined the disability rolls and more than 725,000 put in applications. As a result, by April there were a total of 10.8 million people on disability, [SSI and SSDI?] according to Social Security Administration data, a 53% increase from a decade ago, after accounting for all those who've left the program (about 700,000 drop out each year, mainly because they reached retirement age or died). http://news.investors.com/article/608418/201204200802/ssdi-disability-rolls-skyrocket-under-obama.htm?p=full Also see http://www.akdart.com/poverty.html
A record 5.4 million workers and their dependents have signed up to collect federal disability checks since President Obama took office, according to the latest official government data, as discouraged workers increasingly give up looking for jobs and take advantage of the federal program. From June 2009, the number of new enrollees to Social Security’s disability insurance [SSDI, financed with Social Security taxes paid] program is twice the job growth figure. ^
SSDI now accounts for more than 16% of Social Security's budget and more than 15% of Medicare's (SSDI enrollees can qualify for Medicare after two years.) ^
The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments increased 32% during first three years of Mr. Obama's Presidency. http://patriotupdate.com/17823/food-stamps-up-45-federal-handouts-up-32
In 1988, there were 4.46 million SSI [Supplemental Security Income, financed through general revenues from taxes, meaning benefits are not based on your prior work history] recipients, 6 million in 1993 and in 2011 there were 8 million. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-224.html; http://www.socialsecurity-disability.org/disability-benefits
The top 10 States with the highest percentage of non-poor residents of each state signed up for government assistance were Vermont, Mississippi, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Alaska, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Connecticut, Arkansas. http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-moocher-index/
Much more
This is living at the expense of others. In this case the ‘others’ are every other paying user of the telephone system. To pay for this, the FCC currently levies a 17% tax to fund the ‘universal service fee’.
Congress must throttle this back so, at the most, it is a lifeline, 911-type, service for those who are truly poor. They could start by cutting the minutes down, say 30 a month. But in reality, the federal government has NO BUSINESS making this their business.
ping
How cheeky of Barack to tout himself for something that NEWT GINGRICH thought up. (Otherwise known as food stamp phones.)
They aren’t bashful about this program, advertising it far and wide (seemingly) to every home in the U. S. We have received this advertisement at least ten times this year already.
Check this out. It’s not just a base unit mobile phone either.
Be sure to check out the qualifications. If you’re already accepted into one of a myriad of other government handout programs, you instantly qualify.
http://www.hotr.us/graphics/phoneaddsmall.jpg
I’ve seen one of these food stamp phones and no it’s not a glamorous video phone like that ad would imply. It does have a color LCD screen, but that’s occupied by icons and menus, and has no picture video capability. The one I saw was TracFone. It has quirks, like not being able to understand TracFone customer service when you call them (I mean garbledygook is all you hear).
Yes, the qualifications are wide and not too high, (but to the Left)
Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Medicaid
Supplemental Security Income – commonly known as SSI
Health Benefit Coverage under Child Health Insurance Plan (CHIP)
The National School Lunch Program’s Free Lunch Program.
Low-Income Energy Assistance Program – LIHEAP
Federal Public Housing Assistance ( Section 8 )
If you are a low-income Eligible Resident of Tribal Lands
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families – TANF
My tax dollars at work, I guess, due to public schools, no doubt... never mind the stupidity of the Obama phone.
My aunt just got one. She lives on social security. She pays $10 a month for unlimited calls through ATT and they sent her a Samsung smart phone. Nothing works on it but the phone calls. To qualify for the price she had to get rid of her landline. I helped her set it up so I know.
Seems there is more than one program out there, and the quality of the phones do vary. I reject the idea we should be providing these phones. Lifeline land lines are available to folks in need. That’s good enough. Why should we provide a phone for people to use when they’re out shopping? (not to imply that you agreed we should)
If the U. S. administrations would work as hard to get people work, as they do to give them perks, we wouldn’t need these programs.
It was one of Newt Gingrich’s more controversial ideas. They get touted as the equivalent of the older lifeline phones. And they CAN serve that way, but faceless welfare programs have a way of waving bye-bye to accountability and hello to fraud and laziness. I don’t know if Tracfone would be willing to distribute through, say, the Salvation Army, though. There might not be enough volume to justify it to them.
My part-time coworker was already calling his wife’s cell under this program the Obamaphone, tho I’d assumed he came up with the moniker himself. Hmmm, perhaps not.
This program is not about getting phones for poor folks. It is about pumping taxpayer dollars to an Obama-favored contractor to supply phones and service that they otherwise couldn’t sell. Oh, and in return, they just might make fat contributions to Obama.
“Congress must throttle this back so, at the most, it is a lifeline, 911-type, service for those who are truly poor.”
That isn’t even necessary. Unless things have changed over the last couple of years, any cell phone, even if not activated by a provider, must be able to dial, and connect to, 911. A great and worthy use for discarded cell phones.
The Obama stash is like the horn of plenty.
It pains me that Obama is taking credit for a liberal Republican idea, though.
That will probably happen if (and almost surely when) Romney walks off with the presidency. Whatever liberal things Romney cooks up with the mixed Congress, Obama will still be there hollering that it was his idea first.
Saw a chart several days ago showing how welfare has grown to $700 billion dollars per year. I may be way off base (seriously doubt it), but we should not be looking for new things to hand out free.
We need to gut welfare to the bone. There is presently very little incentive for folks to go out and look for work.
Forgot to mention, The phones they receive are not new, they are re-conditioned. The first phone they sent her did not work and we had to package it up and send it back then they sent her another one. The government is contracting with the carriers for this and the people applying don’t know which phone or carrier they will receive til they get it. Her friend received a totally different phone with Verizon as the carrier.
Trying to sell welfare cuts on that basis in an economy where few jobs go begging for long probably won’t be very successful.
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