- Jul 21, 2009
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio]Original Obamaphone Lady: Obama Voter Says Vote for Obama because he gives a free Phone - YouTube[/ame]
What is the real purpose of the Obamaphone Program?
The reason given is that it provides Welfare recipients a way to call emergency responders. If this was the case then why isn't the numbers for emergency responders like firefighters and police hardwired into the phones. All you do is push a button and you can call 911.
Another reason they gave was it makes it possible for low-income wage earners to go around the high costs of owning a cell-phone in regions that cannot get affordable service. Well this excuse doesn't fly because how many people do you know are on Welfare in rural areas?
They also gave another reason. It gives schools a discount. Yet again it's about the children.
The last reason was that it gives people in rural areas access to telecommunications in their health programs. They claim that it will give farmers access to the latest technology. Actually what it does is allow the government to keep tabs on some farmer walking around his field with a shotgun looking for varmits.
Who Pays For It?
We all do. Every month the government has slipped a little extra charge into your cell-phone bill to pay for this increasingly expensive program. Some consumers may notice a Universal Service line item on their telephone bills. This line item appears when a company chooses to recover its USF contributions directly from its customers by billing them this charge. The FCC doesn't not require this charge to be passed on to customers. Each company makes a business decision about whether and how to assess charges to recover its Universal Service costs. They can elect not to charge customers. Figure the odds.
These charges usually appear as a percentage of the consumers phone bill. Companies that choose to collect Universal Service fees from their customers cannot collect an amount that exceeds their contribution to the USF. They also cannot collect any fees from a Lifeline program participant, so anyone who has an Obamaphone is exempt from the charges. Essentially we are all paying for the poor's cell-phones against our will and in most cases without our knowledge.
BTW, this contribution is an income-tax write-off. It's fully deductible as a business expense.
Well guess what, even the Obamaphone lady won't ever vote for Obama again:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ghmBInC2N8]Obama Phone Lady Says: Darn Sure Won't Vote for Obama Again! - 1/14/13 - YouTube[/ame]
Links
Obama Phone Program
snopes.com: Free 'ObamaPhones' for Welfare Recipients
Universal Service Support Mechanisms | FCC.gov
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-312210A1.pdf
What is the real purpose of the Obamaphone Program?
The reason given is that it provides Welfare recipients a way to call emergency responders. If this was the case then why isn't the numbers for emergency responders like firefighters and police hardwired into the phones. All you do is push a button and you can call 911.
Another reason they gave was it makes it possible for low-income wage earners to go around the high costs of owning a cell-phone in regions that cannot get affordable service. Well this excuse doesn't fly because how many people do you know are on Welfare in rural areas?
They also gave another reason. It gives schools a discount. Yet again it's about the children.
The last reason was that it gives people in rural areas access to telecommunications in their health programs. They claim that it will give farmers access to the latest technology. Actually what it does is allow the government to keep tabs on some farmer walking around his field with a shotgun looking for varmits.
Who Pays For It?
We all do. Every month the government has slipped a little extra charge into your cell-phone bill to pay for this increasingly expensive program. Some consumers may notice a Universal Service line item on their telephone bills. This line item appears when a company chooses to recover its USF contributions directly from its customers by billing them this charge. The FCC doesn't not require this charge to be passed on to customers. Each company makes a business decision about whether and how to assess charges to recover its Universal Service costs. They can elect not to charge customers. Figure the odds.
These charges usually appear as a percentage of the consumers phone bill. Companies that choose to collect Universal Service fees from their customers cannot collect an amount that exceeds their contribution to the USF. They also cannot collect any fees from a Lifeline program participant, so anyone who has an Obamaphone is exempt from the charges. Essentially we are all paying for the poor's cell-phones against our will and in most cases without our knowledge.
BTW, this contribution is an income-tax write-off. It's fully deductible as a business expense.
Well guess what, even the Obamaphone lady won't ever vote for Obama again:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ghmBInC2N8]Obama Phone Lady Says: Darn Sure Won't Vote for Obama Again! - 1/14/13 - YouTube[/ame]
Links
Obama Phone Program
snopes.com: Free 'ObamaPhones' for Welfare Recipients
Universal Service Support Mechanisms | FCC.gov
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-312210A1.pdf
