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Free cell phones are now a civil right

Renae

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Pennsylvanians on public assistance now have a new 'civil right' -- free cell phones. Meanwhile, the rest of us get to pay higher cell bills as a result.
Recently, a federal government program called the Universal Service Fund came to the Keystone State and some residents are thrilled because it means they can enjoy 250 minutes a month and a handset for free, just because they don't have the money to pay for it. Through Assurance Wireless and SafeLink from Tracfone Wireless these folks get to reach out and touch someone while the cost of their service is paid for by everyone else. You see, the telecommunications companies are funding the Universal Service Fund to the tune of $4 billion a year because the feds said they have to and in order to recoup their money, the companies turn around and hike their fees to paying customers. But those of use paying for the free service for the poor, should be happy about this infuriating situation, says Gary Carter, manager of national partnerships for Assurance, because "the program is about peace of mind." Free cell service means "one less bill that someone has to pay, so they can pay their rent or for day care...it is a right to have peace of mind," Cater explained.


Read more: Free cell phones are now a civil right

If you're responsible, you're obviously living too well.
 
The story isn't complete until we find out which politicians are profiting off this deal.
 
In some cases, cell phone service is actually cheaper than a landline. So depending on costs in Pennsylvania, the State may actually be saving taxpayer money by providing cell phones instead of a landline.

It's a great headline to get people's dander up, but in reality it may be a good thing. Unless you're suddenly against the government saving money, which I doubt.
 
In some cases, cell phone service is actually cheaper than a landline. So depending on costs in Pennsylvania, the State may actually be saving taxpayer money by providing cell phones instead of a landline.

It's a great headline to get people's dander up, but in reality it may be a good thing. Unless you're suddenly against the government saving money, which I doubt.


This sounds exactly like government logic and what has us in the financial situation we are in. Spend money to save money. :doh

We give out free stuff but if we give away cheaper free stuff we save money!!!

How about we stop giving away "free stuff" all together. We may not "save" money but at least we would be expense neutral.
 
This sounds exactly like government logic and what has us in the financial situation we are in. Spend money to save money. :doh

We give out free stuff but if we give away cheaper free stuff we save money!!!

How about we stop giving away "free stuff" all together. We may not "save" money but at least we would be expense neutral.

We want people to get jobs, right? (Assuming there were any). How are potential employers going to call them to give them a job?

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute...
 
We want people to get jobs, right? (Assuming there were any). How are potential employers going to call them to give them a job?

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute...

Do what people did for years. Give them the number of a good friend.
 
Do what people did for years. Give them the number of a good friend.

Assuming your friend has a phone.

I'm reminded of the blind man in O Brother Where Art Thou?

Delmar:"You work for the railroad, old man?"

Blind man: "I work for no man."

Pete: "You got a name?"

"I have no name."

Everett: "Well, now there's your problem getting gainful employment. You see, in the mart of competitive commerce..."
 
We want people to get jobs, right? (Assuming there were any). How are potential employers going to call them to give them a job?

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute...

We all know someone that has a phone, not having one yourself will not keep you from getting a job. I myself have not always had a phone yet it never once stopped me from gaining employment.

You can either let potential employers know the number is a message phone for you and a friend family member can rely the message. If you do not happen to know anyone willing to take a message for you (which is unlikely but happens) we still have the good old envelope & stamp. Trust me if an employer really wants to hire you they will go to extra lengths to do so.

How did people become employed 50 years ago when phones were not nearly as widespread? Im just saying its perfectly possible to still do so, this does not necessarily mean everyone will. It has become more of a convenience to use a phone to hire persons but by no means is it a necessity.
 
I think this article is stretching the truth by calling it a "right". If it's part of them moving closer to getting a job and off of long-term assistance, then it saves money, not the other way around.

Nice propaganda piece though, as usual.
 
Assuming your friend has a phone.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the vast majority have a friend with a phone. What if they have no car to get to the interview? No computer to put in an online application? (many places only take online apps now)
 
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I posted my thoughts on this a while ago but it bears repeating

http://www.debatepolitics.com/us-pa...ical-platforms/70987-government-wireless.html

As if I didn’t have any more reasons to hate the welfare system another one just fell in my lap today. Apparently there is a cell phone structure especially designed for people on the various welfare programs (Medicare, Section 8 Housing etc). The program is called Assurance which is handled through Pre-paid carrier Virgin Mobile which uses the Sprint Network for it’s service. The service is paid for through the Universal Service Fund which is apart of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Here is the bad and good part it’s only available in five states (Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia) therefore limits the abuse (wishful thinking I know), but at the same time everyone pays for it through taxes!

You may wonder why I would be upset over a program that has (relatively speaking) very low impact compared to rest of the abused welfare programs. Well today I had a customer who wanted to buy one of the high end Virgin mobile phones priced at $100. At least that’s what I was able to understand since he spoke ghetto-ese. I asked him if he had service with Virgin Mobile already or was starting new service. He replied that he had this Assurance service which uses Virgin Mobile phones in to which I said “oh so your just replacing a broken phone”. I was told that his phone wasn’t broken he just wanted a better one. At the time I didn’t think much of it until I looked up Assurance and found out it was a tax payer funded cell phone. In addition the guy paid for the phone with a government assistance card and I noticed food stamps in his wallet! Of course however this type of abuse happens with all the welfare programs. I remember one time selling a 32” LCD television to someone who lived in a HUD housing area.

Which angers me the most about this program is that the market has already fixed the problem of getting a ways of communication to low income people. It’s called pre-paid, I could understand the point of this back when the act was passed in 1996 when cell phones were still pretty expensive even for the most basic of service but that’s not the case anymore. At least in New York there are at least five pre-paid carries and all the major contract wireless carriers offer pre-paid service. Hell now a days Sprint’s minimum credit deposit for those that fall into that category is $50 and basic talk service typically falls into that price range. The wheels of the market may be slow but they turn up with better results than any government program can hope to dream of.
 
Do what people did for years. Give them the number of a good friend.

LOL...Good idea...until you discover your friend's phone got shutoff because he lost his job and couldn't pay the bill.

I'm just saying...

I get what tic's people off about this, but sometimes when hard times are upon just about everyone you just gotta try and do whatever you can to help keep people stay connected. This is one of those opportunities. But like 1Perry said, until you know whose getting paid under the table on this the story isn't complete.

Cold Highway,

I hear your pain and understand exactly where you're coming from. It's a shame when people are just taking advantage of the system. That kind of abuse I don't condone. Still, I say if you have a problem with that kind of abusive behavior the best thing you can do is write/contact your congressmen and Virgin Mobile and tell them about it! Let them know that the high-end phones shouldn't be part of the "free cellphone program", i.e., iphones. There are companies out there - mostly charities - who collect old cell phones. Maybe you could recommend this to Virgin and your state legistlators and get them to tamp down on the "latest and greatest" cellphones offered under the program, thereby, reducing the cost to taxpayers.

Don't just get mad my friend, work the system and get even. :2mad:
 
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The more free goodies gov gives people the less incentive there is to get a job.

I've heard that argument before and on the surface of it, I agree. But if you live in a depressed community/city where unemployment is high and there's little chance of rapid job growth - enough to employ those who really do want to work - you do what you can to stave off anarchy. Because if things get any worse, I'm afraid that's where this country may be headed.

Granted, a few free cell phones aren't going to help very many get back to work, but it will help them to save alittle money while still being able to get out and look for work and be able to provide a personal contact number where a potential employer can reach them, i.e., those who have moved back in with their parents or worse living in homeless shelters. It's like I said to Cold Highway above, if you notice folks are taking advantage of the free cellphone service the worse thing you can do is keep quite and rant to no one in particular who can't do a damned thing to fix the problem. But do more than just complain; offer suggestion to correct the problem. I've offered an idea or two on how one might go about chaning things in this regard. It's up to those who've actually seen the abuse and/or misues first-hand to get involved the right way.
 
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LOL...Good idea...until you discover your friend's phone got shutoff because he lost his job and couldn't pay the bill.

I'm just saying...

I get what tic's people off about this, but sometimes when hard times are upon just about everyone you just gotta try and do whatever you can to help people stay connected.

I hate when I get momentarily distracted and make stupid spelling or grammer errors. :doh
 
In some cases, cell phone service is actually cheaper than a landline. So depending on costs in Pennsylvania, the State may actually be saving taxpayer money by providing cell phones instead of a landline.

It's a great headline to get people's dander up, but in reality it may be a good thing. Unless you're suddenly against the government saving money, which I doubt.

Cellphones are absolutely cheaper for me than a landline - by a significant chunk of change. Upone remodel I just ripped the old landline wires out.
 
Ok, this is a bit silly.

While I think the article is using slightly histrionic language, the guts of this are still baffling to me.

I believe having access to communications like the internet and phone service are a right, in the sense that the government should not have the ability to take them away. But that doesn't mean people are entitled to personally own them.

While it is true having a phone makes things easier, it is not a necessity for having a job. My dad doesn't have a cell phone, by choice. He uses Skype as his "landline," so to speak (which is WAY cheaper than either a cell phone or a standard land line, and can be used from any computer, or even a Skype phone). He has no trouble getting or holding a job.

This is a waste of taxpayer money. A cell phone is not necessary.

You can get unlimited Skype minutes in the US and a Skype phone number for people to call, for $9 per month. Less if you go with a long-term plan. With the tiniest bit of tech savvy, you can get a wifi-enabled phone from a charity like OV mentions and run Skype on it. It's not tough.
 
Pennsylvanians on public assistance now have a new 'civil right' -- free cell phones. Meanwhile, the rest of us get to pay higher cell bills as a result.

Meh. I'll tell you what. I'll get upset about the higher cell phone bills that result from helping the poor, as soon as you get upset about the higher bills that result from permitting a telecom oligopoly to exist in the United States. Deal? :roll:
 
In some cases, cell phone service is actually cheaper than a landline. So depending on costs in Pennsylvania, the State may actually be saving taxpayer money by providing cell phones instead of a landline.

It's a great headline to get people's dander up, but in reality it may be a good thing. Unless you're suddenly against the government saving money, which I doubt.

The government shouldn't be paying for someone's phone service, period.
 
I've heard that argument before and on the surface of it, I agree. But if you live in a depressed community/city where unemployment is high and there's little chance of rapid job growth - enough to employ those who really do want to work - you do what you can to stave off anarchy. Because if things get any worse, I'm afraid that's where this country may be headed.

Granted, a few free cell phones aren't going to help very many get back to work, but it will help them to save alittle money while still being able to get out and look for work and be able to provide a personal contact number where a potential employer can reach them, i.e., those who have moved back in with their parents or worse living in homeless shelters. It's like I said to Cold Highway above, if you notice folks are taking advantage of the free cellphone service the worse thing you can do is keep quite and rant to no one in particular who can't do a damned thing to fix the problem. But do more than just complain; offer suggestion to correct the problem. I've offered an idea or two on how one might go about chaning things in this regard. It's up to those who've actually seen the abuse and/or misues first-hand to get involved the right way.

If the ****ing government would get the **** outta the way with all that ****ing hope-n-change, things would improve.

I reckon that's not going to happen, since this economic downfall is by design of that same government.
 
The question: is the cellphone an Iphone 4?
 
A phone serves a wider purpose - usually people default to thinking of communication with friends and family. But we all use our phones to discuss business, set up dr's appointments, call schools and daycares, make transportation plans and other such necessary arrangements - and so on.

Without my phone - with four children - just how would I be able to do any of that? Walk to a neighbors house? I'd hate to be that neighbor. Use the internet? That's more expensive than my cellphone service.

:shrug:

And what about emergency situations - I'm all the time having to call for assistance, report a situation or call someone a cab or wrecker. Tonight I had to call 911 for a mother who showed up at my house after her husband beat her in front of their children.

I support the poor being given temporary support - so they don't have to starve to death and sell their children for quarters while they try to find a job, a better place to live, transportation to work or school - and so on. . . I see it as a practical function that aids them in their effort to become more financially solid and independent.
 
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I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the vast majority have a friend with a phone. What if they have no car to get to the interview? No computer to put in an online application? (many places only take online apps now)

Well duh,
Free Cars with Free Gas and Free Computers with Free Online Service are next!!!

Its a RIGHT MAAAAAN!
 
Well duh,
Free Cars with Free Gas and Free Computers with Free Online Service are next!!!

Its a RIGHT MAAAAAN!

Not a 'right' - but a useful tool which will enable people to find a job, care for their children and get to work.

If someone's going ot be living on welfare for a while they BETTER be going to school or getting a job. They BETTER take their kids to the dr's and dentist routinely - they BETTER strive ot improve things for theirselves. That is the purpose of support.
 
A phone serves a wider purpose - usually people default to thinking of communication with friends and family. But we all use our phones to discuss business, set up dr's appointments, call schools and daycares, make transportation plans and other such necessary arrangements - and so on.
.... and so on being.
"Set up meetings with our crack dealers" or for many who are gaming the system "set up meetings with our crack clients"
 
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