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Because you have a CONTRACT. Try to get a "free" cell phone without one. They'll laugh you out of the store.
Answering machines can be had for less than $20. Probably less than $10 if the Dept of Welfare bought a few thousand of them direct from a distributor for distribution to public assistance recipients.
It is also logical to assume that if we're giving land-lines to the poor, the phone company will work out a special limited plan for recipients, regardless of the area. Much like the "budget service" I keep running for emergencies. My point was the freely available budget plan I get costs less than any cell phone plan on the market. So based on that, one can determine that the cost of delivery is cheaper. So government can negotiate an even lower cost for a plan specifically for low or no income folks.
By the way, I LIVE IN PA. So I know that these specific people can get the same plan.
Because it's cheaper than having 2 bills. It has to do with cost vs. benefit, and not solely the cost. Folks think they NEED a mobile phone. So if they have to have that, they can use it at their home. Welfare recipients do NOT NEED a mobile phone. Wherever they are going they are sure to be back within a few hours. Because, you know, it's not like they're spending 10 hours at a JOB!
You're making an assumption here that isn't always true i.e. many poor people don't have homes where they can get land-line phones installed. They move around a lot, staying with a relative or friends here and there. A lot of poor even live in shelters or in their cars or on the streets. They might have a couple of part times jobs but not even coming in for deposits on housing.
The cell phones that qualify for the free programs aren't the cell phones with all the bells and whistles like you'd get for yourself.
I've yet to pay anything for a cell phone. And where I live, land lines don't come with minutes, voice mail costs extra or an answering machine has to be purchased, and just about all calls are long distance, so the monthly charges easily exceed the cost of a cell.
Why do you think millions of people are no longer getting land lines at all, but going solely to cell phones?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayland Woman
You're making an assumption here that isn't always true i.e. many poor people don't have homes where they can get land-line phones installed. They move around a lot and/or staying with a relative here and there. A lot of working poor even live in shelters or in their cars.
The cell phones that qualify for the free programs aren't the cell phones with all the bells and whistles like you'd get for yourself.
I guess it comes down to WHO you know, right?
When you know several hard working Americans who pass on a cell phone because they have to put food on the table, this type of thing tends to tick you off a bit.
Now, with my knowledge of technology I fully understand WHY this is not cost effective, and is in fact gratuitous. You folks might not, but I'm pretty much done trying to make you understand.
Whomever is responsible for letting this go through will not get my vote the next time they're in an election. This whole program is absurd, and a slap in the face to responsible people who work for a living. No wonder why so many conservatives are foaming at the mouth lately.
Not only free cell phones.
Obama's FCC is forcing Comcast to give internet service to certain residents of the Miami FL for only $10 a month.
I work for a Company that is forced to eat hundreds of thousands a year in free services. The installers have endless stories of the nice places these people live in and the new cars they drive.
When you know several hard working Americans who pass on a cell phone because they have to put food on the table, this type of thing tends to tick you off a bit.
Now, with my knowledge of technology I fully understand WHY this is not cost effective, and is in fact gratuitous. You folks might not, but I'm pretty much done trying to make you understand.
Whomever is responsible for letting this go through will not get my vote the next time they're in an election. This whole program is absurd, and a slap in the face to responsible people who work for a living. No wonder why so many conservatives are foaming at the mouth lately.
The program for free phones for the poor has been around for many decades. The switch to include cell phones is just an extension of the same program to fit the times and the fact that many poor people are homeless. You simply don't have a chance of getting a job without a callback number.
Have you tried looking for work without a cell phone? It's become necessary to be "on call" and potential employers and recruiters expect to be able to reach you quickly.
The program for free phones for the poor has been around for many decades. The switch to include cell phones is just an extension of the same program to fit the times and the fact that many poor people are homeless. You simply don't have a chance of getting a job without a callback number.
How do they keep their phones charged if they are homeless?
How do they keep their phones charged if they are homeless?
There are outdoor plugs in a lot of places if you know where to look---I'll bet you even have one on your house. We have three. A homeless vet where I live even got charged with thief for using a store's plug on a light pole to charge his phone. He made the mistake of doing it in broad daylight instead of waiting until no one could see him do it. Homeless shelters also let people charge phones.
The technology has been in place for decades, unlike cell, which is still developing and still being put into place, and still being upgraded.
Yeah, not so much. We're not talking 3G/4G here, we're talking basic voice service. Urban areas are blanketed already, and last year's voice-only handsets have a market value of next to nothing. You can hand out a 100 limited usage phones for the cost of one landline service dispatch.
You're making an assumption here that isn't always true i.e. many poor people don't have homes where they can get land-line phones installed. They move around a lot, staying with a relative or friends here and there. A lot of poor even live in shelters or in their cars or on the streets. They might have a couple of part times jobs but not even coming in for deposits on housing.
The cell phones that qualify for the free programs aren't the cell phones with all the bells and whistles like you'd get for yourself.
Add to that, many public phone booths are just ... gone.
And the Left will continue throwing their hissy fits on how there is no social welfare system in the USA.
Who made that claim? Which person?
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