Community | January 29, 2012 | 4 comments

Outrageous! The Government Is Giving Out Free Cell Phones And Free Cell Phone Minutes To Welfare Recipients

source: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/outrageous-the-federal-government-is-giving-out-...

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Revelation1217
Did you know that the federal government is giving out free cell phones and free cell phone minutes to welfare recipients? It may be hard to believe, but it is true. Right now, there are companies that are running advertisements specifically targeted at low income Americans informing them of the fact that all they have to do is sign up and they can get a free cell phone and hundreds of free cell phone minutes every single month and it will all be paid for by the federal government. Some have referred to this as "The Obama Phone", but that is not exactly accurate. The outrageous federal programs that are paying for this were initiated before Barack Obama entered the White House. But the fact that welfare recipients have been receiving free cell phones and free cell phone minutes under both the Bush and Obama administrations has been confirmed as being true by Snopes. All of this is paid for by "the federal Universal Service Fund". That is one of those annoying little taxes that you may have noticed on your phone bill. So what is essentially happening is the federal government is taking money from all of us so that they can provide free cell phone service for welfare recipients every single month.
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4 comments // Outrageous! The Government Is Giving Out Free Cell Phones And Free Cell Phone Minutes To Welfare Recipients

  • Novek
  • FreeSpiritMuse
    • 0
      FreeSpiritMuse  

    • I am posting the following information from the Safe Link Wireless website, also noting that the Lifeline program was created during the Reagan Administration :

      There is no "Obama phone" or other newly created federal program to provide free cell phones. As you may know, this is a myth that is now circulating on the Web via email and blog sites. It has been thoroughly debunked by independent groups. (See for example: FactCheck.org at http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/, which notes: "Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it."

      The federal "Lifeline" program was created during the Reagan Administration. Lifeline is a federal program created by the Reagan era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1984. The program was enhanced under Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was supported on a broadly bipartisan basis in Congress. The FCC’s Low Income Program of the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), is designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to low-income customers at just, reasonable, and affordable rates. Lifeline support reduces eligible low-income consumers' monthly charges for basic telephone service.

      Thanks to SafeLink, Lifeline support is now available for wireless phones. Traditionally, the Lifeline program was only available as a discount on a consumer’s landline telephone bill. SafeLink Wireless was created by TracFone Wireless, Inc. when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the company to offer Lifeline -- a public assistance program that ensures telephone service is available and affordable for low-income subscribers. SafeLink Wireless applies the Universal Service Fund subsidy to an allotment of free airtime minutes and TracFone provides the wireless handset at the company’s expense. Instead of receiving a subsidized monthly telephone bill for Lifeline service, SafeLink converts the total amount of discounted service into minutes each month for one year. The cell phone offers in-demand features: voicemail, text, three-way calling, call waiting, caller ID and access to 911.

      *****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.

      https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Safelink/program_info/benefits

    • 4 months ago
  • FreeSpiritMuse
    • 0
      FreeSpiritMuse  
    • FreeSpiritMuse:

      A post from a caseworker who gives another perspective to consider:

      "eforsee
      For reference, I am a case worker in Columbus, Ohio, and help people apply for any low-income assistance program they are eligible for.

      Actually, these phones have allowed MANY of my clients who are homeless (more once middle-class, white, professionals than you can imagine, who have lost their jobs, and lost their homes) to secure housing and start working again. How would one get an apartment or return a call for an interview without a phone?

      It is quite common for senior citizens, who worked their whole lives and receive social security, to only get $16-25 in food stamps. They receive too much SSI to qualify for more, but spend almost all of their income on prescription drug costs. Utilities are one of the first things to go for them when they are having trouble making ends meet, Would you want your elderly parent to live on their own and have no emergency phone in case they fall or become ill? And speaking of health problems, is it right to allow anyone with a health problem to go without a means to get emergency health care when they need it? Do you know how many homeless veterans I work with that are in this situation?

      Sure, an iphone with internet access and unlimited calls/texts would be extravagant, but we are talking about a track phone with a maximum amount of 250 minutes a month! How often do you use your phone? This is not an unreasonable amount (and it was just raised from only 68minutes a month!) this is reasonable for someone looking for work, looking for a home, checking in with loved ones, or for emergencies.

      And just something to think about: lets just say there are folks that are "living off the system," (which is nearly impossible). What kind of life is it to bring your children up in subsidized housing, often times around the influences of violence and drugs? To live off of maybe $200 for food and a phone that only is good for 250 minutes? You act like "living off of welfare," is some luxurious thing, and those people are just raking in the dough! "Living of of welfare," if just what it means- LIVING- but just barely. We support our poor just enough to make sure they are still alive, but rarely enough to help them get out of the cycle of poverty and improve their lives.

      I love how you people always want folks who have fallen on hard times to "to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, work hard, and stop living off the system!"...but will not support giving them the tools to so. Your blog is ridiculous, and you literally know nothing of what you're talking about. "

      http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/safelink_wireless_a_government_welfare_program_...

    • 4 months ago
  • EdJoyProductions
    • +2
      EdJoyProductions  

    • Um, okay. The only people that I know for a fact are getting free phones from the government are victims of domestic violence that can not afford service on their own for use in emergencies.

      So, I think we need to chill a little on this accusation until we find out exactly who the "welfare phones" are actually being distributed to.

    • 4 months ago
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