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There's a word for how I'm feeling right now. It starts with a "B" and ends with a "W". In the middle, there's quite a number of "AAAAA"'s.
Seriously, people are complaining that those without phones are being given a phone with 250 minutes loaded onto it for emergencies, not to mention 9/11 calls in the case of a life or death emergency.
The biggest mind-boggling thing is, this isn't even coming out of our pockets!
So why in the blue blazing you-know-where is this an issue?
Maybe I COULD have got one of those phones but I WOULDN'T have taken it. I like to feel that I have earned everything that I have and if I can't afford it I can tell myself NO and not look for it for free. Just because most people can afford something and I can not doesn't mean I wan someone to give it to me for free.
So, I take it you're at least as mad that the rural communities - y'know, Real America - are getting heavily subsidized phone service? At, I might add, 4 times the cost of the Low Income program.
Yes I know real America. I grew up in the middle of nothing West Virginia. The church I went to growing up had an out house. If we visited my granny we could only drive so far, park the truck and had to walk the rest of the way up the hillside. I know poor, I know doing without and making do with what you have. I grew up in a small little metal trailer. My dad worked at a factory and my mom at Dairy Queen. I remember my dad getting laid off and not being able to find work for a while. When we finally were broke he hatedit, but he went to get food stamps. But guess what? He couldn't get them because he made too much money the last year. So we made do with my dad saying he would never try to get help again because things were not set up to help the working man. We ate a lot of pinto beans and food from the garden. We sucked it up and made. My dad got another job but I will never forget how hard it was for my dad, who always worked, needed help for about 5 months while he was out of work and couldn't get any. But someone who has never worked could get foodstamps and all kinds of other help, making it too easy for them not to work.
I am by no means well to do. I work at a call center. I hear all the time about welfare scams my co workers do. One girl works with me has no kids, her sister has 2 doesn't work. So they get together and sign papers saying the girl at my work is taking care of the kids so she can get the tax credit to get back a tax refund of $6,000.
I would have no problem with some on needing help for a while, but there are way to many people staying on the system for years, generations.
I am all for welfare people getting a complete physical and mental evaluation. If they pass they will have to EARN their food stamps in some manner instead of sitting at home watching TV eating all day and night.
You can make a 911 call from any cell phone, even one that is not under a service plan. These free phones are paid for by phone customers - look at your phone bills.
SuzyQ123, you are a true American. Unfortunately, our country has been taken over by socialists and is being turned into a welfare state. Enjoy it while it lasts. At least we'll be able to place a call to China for help once we go bankrupt!
You can make a 911 call from any cell phone, even one that is not under a service plan.
Because obviously, if they're on welfare and can't afford a cellphone, they're going to always have a cellphone around in the case of emergency, amirite?
Quote:
These free phones are paid for by phone customers - look at your phone bills.
Care to provide a quote, link, or anything that shows this?
You can make a 911 call from any cell phone, even one that is not under a service plan. These free phones are paid for by phone customers - look at your phone bills.
SuzyQ123, you are a true American. Unfortunately, our country has been taken over by socialists and is being turned into a welfare state. Enjoy it while it lasts. At least we'll be able to place a call to China for help once we go bankrupt!
You're right. Practically any cellphone can call 911 even without a plan. However, only having the capacity to call 911 means that... for example: a counselor would not be able to call a parent about a sick child or accident at school.
Also, I checked my phone bill. Base cost of plan, additional fee for phones 3 and 4, insurance on each line, state taxes, 911 tax. Nope. Don't see anything on my bill that indicates that I'm paying for a low-income phone.
But yeah, we've been turning socialist since Reagan signed that silly little Lifeline program. Thhooough, the part about calling China would be incorrect. International calls are not normally included in the Safelink program.
Read up on what it is before giving yourself an ulcer (https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/benefits.aspx - broken link).
You quoted this from the article:
Quote:
SafeLink phones are not paid for by taxpayers or the federal government. TracFone Wireless pays for the phones and also the cost of promoting its SafeLink program to make sure that eligible consumers know about the program
They are paid for through the Universal Service Fund which is funded by telecommunications companies which then past that cost onto the consumer. Technically the taxpayer is not paying the bill but if you own a phone you are.... which is just about everyone.
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