No Mo' ObamaPhones !

[southwind]

Gonna be a lot of pissed off peeps !

"Bill to quit ‘Obama-phone’ giveaway gathers steam!"

"The program is formally called Lifeline and started under the Ronald Reagan administration as a means of providing landline phone service to poor people in case of emergency. It’s grown to the point the Federal Communications Commission under President Obama now admits it’s rife with waste and fraud."

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio[youtube][/background]​

 

[Ms Tree]

Since Reagan started it should't it be called the Reagan Phone and if not, why do Clinton and Bush get a pass since the phones and the progra existed during their administrations as well.

 

[SparrowHawk]

yet another example of well meaning people failing to understand human nature

 

[700UW]

Another right wing nut job, like Tree said, they are not Obama phones, they were started with Reagan.

And that would be Two Bushes, not just one.

 

[Kev3188]

If it's "rife with waste and fraud," then you fix it, not kill it.

As for "failing to understand," how many people like Southwind have been fooled into believing the urban myth(s) behind this program?

 

[signals]

Class is in session....Keyword-Landline! With Obama you have CELL PHONES because druggies are mobile and cell phones make crime a hell of a lot easier! Add to that the fact that they advertise the WELFARE phone on TV and those entrepreneurs in the hood and trailer are bound to see a money making scheme. The rest of you are in the wrong profession, because you're paying for it.

 

[700UW]

Ignorance is bliss on this topic:

http://www.forbes.co...-they-for-real/

The federal program wasn’t started by President Obama. It dates back to 1996, as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Act did a number of things, including increasing internet access to doctors and patients in rural hospitals (for consults with specialists); subsidizing internet and phone coverage for schools and libraries and providing free or subsidized coverage for families who can’t afford it so that they have links to emergency and government services. The Act was not taxpayer funded… exactly. Taxpayers do pay for coverage but not via federal income taxes. Instead, the Act “mandated the creation of the universal service fund (USF) into which all telecommunications providers are required to contribute a percentage of their interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues.” So that little fee on your phone bill labeled USF? That’s what you’re paying for.

The bottom line is that there is free phone assistance available to those who qualify but it is not an Obama administration program. Taxpayers do support the program but not through federal income taxes. And despite the screaming lady in the video, eligibility doesn’t hinge on Social Security, disability or food stamps; there’s no “buy one bag of chips, get an Obama phone free” promotion. Just because a woman holding a sign gets a microphone in her face doesn’t make her statements true.

http://www.factcheck...ll-phone-claim/

Lifeline is funded by telecom customers who pay a universal service fee as part of their phone bills. The fee technically is not a tax but a cross subsidy, the rules of which are determined by the Federal Communications Commission.

We tackled a similar claim in 2009 regarding the so-called “Obama phone.” As we explained then, the FCC requires phone companies to fund “universal service” programs such as Lifeline that improve telecommunications access to all Americans. The companies pass the cost along to consumers in the form of a universal service fee, which is listed on a monthly phone bill.

The fees go into the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, an independent, not-for-profit corporation. USAC manages Lifeline and three other programs that provide telecommunications services to rural areas, schools, libraries and places where it’s more expensive to provide access.

Lifeline does not “give away” “government phones.” The program reimburses phone companies with a monthly subsidy of $9.25 for each low-income customer who uses a landline or a cell phone. States may provide additional subsidies. Some phone companies have found ways to provide free cell phones and free service covered entirely by the reimbursement. Before the FCC’s changes, Lifeline’s Link Up program also offered companies $30 to cover the cost of a new phone connection.

 

[signals]

It dates back to 1996....Oh my that would be the beloved Billary! Lifeline is funded by telecom customers who pay a universal service fee as part of their phone bills. The fee technically is not a tax but a cross subsidy, the rules of which are determined by the Federal Communications Commission....Call it what you want, but some fool is paying for it! Now let's see the ignorance!

 

[700UW]

Spin spin spin.

Guess you all cant admit that you blame Obama and he has nothing to do with the program.

And the cell phone part started in 2008, gee that would be under George Bush.

So, in 2008 the first application of this program for mobile phones began when a company called Tracfone started their Safelink Wireless service in Tennessee.

Aha, some say, that’s the same year Obama was elected! Well, that’s true. But the service in Tennessee was launched three months prior to Obama being elected. And that means the discussion and approval of the extension of the program occurred under President Bush’s watch.

http://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/faq/obama-phone

And even if it started under Clinton, Congress still had to approve it.

 

[signals]

Spin spin spin.

Guess you all cant admit that you blame Obama and he has nothing to do with the program.

And the cell phone part started in 2008, gee that would be under George Bush.


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http://www.freegover...faq/obama-phone

And even if it started under Clinton, Congress still had to approve it.

Not blaming Obama, just happen to notice TV COMMERCIALS that I never saw before Obama. The cell phones started by Bush so lets hang him already. Interesting that in your delusional spin, spin, spin world it was never Billary's fault because in them thar days, Congress had the final say, but Bush overrode Congress, blah blah blah. People forget that the Supreme Court also has a say.

 

[700UW]

Congress passes the laws that made the program, if you cant understand Congress rewrote the Telecommunications Act in 1996.

Bill didnt write the law, nor start the program, it was done under Reagan and under Bush is when the cell phones were added.

In 1985, the FCC implemented Lifeline to help low-income households in case phone rates increased after the breakup of AT&T. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 codified the universal service policy.

It is truly amazing how people still to this day dont understand how our government works.

The original law was written in 1934.

 

[cltrat]

maybe obama gets credit for because his people are on tape talking about their "obama phone" not unlike the lady claiming to vote for obama because he was paying her mortgage and for her gas.
pretty funny really considering how people on the left talk about uneducated people voting for the right.

 

[700UW]

Its pathetic on both sides, that people are so ignorant on how things work.

No phones are free, and Obama isnt paying for anyone's phone, mortgage or gas.

 

[Kev3188]

Class is in session....Keyword-Landline! With Obama you have CELL PHONES because druggies are mobile and cell phones make crime a hell of a lot easier!

A true criminal uses a "burner."

Class dismissed.

Lifeline is funded by telecom customers who pay a universal service fee as part of their phone bills.

Know what's awesome? If you don't want to help pay for this program, you don't have to! All you have to do is cancel (or not renew) your cellphone contract. Problem solved!

 

[southwind]

Since Reagan started it should't it be called the Reagan Phone and if not, why do Clinton and Bush get a pass since the phones and the progra existed during their administrations as well.

Personally I really don't care if it's called ReaganPhone, ClintonPhone or ObamaPhone, no one pays my cell phone bill except for me.
Cell phones are a "WANT", not a "NEED" ! Unless BaRack is going behind closed doors to make owning a cell phone a "Right" !

I'm all for subsidizing a "Land line" for the poor !